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No Docsis 3.1 Channels & Support Won't Help

miteshjoshi
On our wavelength

I have been on GIG1 for some time now but randomly my broadband stopped working a couple of weeks ago. After raising this with Support, troubleshooting and arranging for a new hub to be sent to me (which didn't arrive) I ended up with a Engineer appointment where the Engineer replaced the hub. We managed to get the service up and running the day after he visited but the original problem he noted and explained on the day of the visit is still not resolved.

The problem is that my hub is only picking up Docsis 3 channels and hence the speeds vary and drop every so often. The max I will ever get from the hub us 550-600mbps. I have been informed and researched to find that this is because Docsis 3 only has a capacity maximum of say 700mbps. I need to be on Docsis 3.1 channels to get the speeds I am paying for. 

I raised this now about 5 times with support and also the engineer who visited. Support keep giving me the usual which is Docsis 3.1 is for connecting a telephone line to the hub. The engineer has said he has raised to his triage team who have confirmed its due to my account being created on the Docsis 3 platform. I need my account to be moved to the Docsis 3.1 platform but now nobody is willing to help me and I don't know what I do. 

Please help as I know others on here have posted and they have managed to get the issue resolved. 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

Forum staff will pick this up, but can take a day or two (but in my view, waiting is better than trying to deal with the dismal phone "support").

See where this Helpful Answer was posted

25 REPLIES 25

jpeg1
Alessandro Volta

Do you have no 3.1 channels at all?  Not even one?

- jpeg1
My name is NOT Alessandro. That's just a tag Virginmedia sticks on some contributors. Please ignore it.

miteshjoshi
On our wavelength

No not even one. See attached which will show you.

Screenshot 2022-03-23 at 11.13.18.png

0 downstream and 0 upstream

gitty
Fibre optic

@miteshjoshi wrote:

The max I will ever get from the hub us 550-600mbps. I have been informed and researched to find that this is because Docsis 3 only has a capacity maximum of say 700mbps. I need to be on Docsis 3.1 channels to get the speeds I am paying for. 


Each 3.0 channel can carry ~50 Mbps (EuroDOCSIS / 8 MHz channel). If all 32 channels are healthy, there should be a chance of getting more than 600 Mbps at non-busy hours. There should be a 3.1 channel, but your issue may be two-fold.

miteshjoshi
On our wavelength

Thanks for the reply.

That's exactly the issue which at busy times.

I know I need the docsis 3.1 channels and then Ill be fine but just can't seem to get anyone to help me on this. 

Any suggestions apart from calling support as they don't help.

Just to be clear, you won't get all the channels converted to 3.0.   There should be one extra channel at 3.1 in addition to all the 3.0 channels.

Has the Hub been replaced?

- jpeg1
My name is NOT Alessandro. That's just a tag Virginmedia sticks on some contributors. Please ignore it.

Andrew-G
Alessandro Volta

And the single D3.1 channel is downstream, there's never upstream 3.1 channels with VM's setup.

As you've found, the 32 downstream channels can deliver around 700 Mbps in practice, by bonding the channels together, you might think of that like a bunch of drinking straws.  The single 3.1 channel uses a much wider channel width to add about another 600 Mbps of capacity, like a single big fat straw.  VM's network operates a Gig 1 connection as the 32 ordinary straws sellotaped together for the downstream, four thinner straws for the upstream channels, and one single big fat one.  If that sounds convoluted, it's all down to backward compatibility needs, and the fact that cable networks were originally designed to distribute analogue TV content, which was entirely a downstream traffic flow. 

The field implementation of DOCSIS 3.1 is a miracle of ingenuity, mathematics, physics and engineering.  It's also a miracle that this unbelievably complex Heath Robinson lash up works at all, but you can say the same of many technologies that only fully flower in their twilight years.  

miteshjoshi
On our wavelength

Yes the hub has been replaced and still only picks up docsis 3 channels. Never docsis 3.1 channels.

I am told its because my account was set up on docsis 3 incorrectly and not on docsis 3.1 but however the resolution I just need to get it sorted.

Nobody seems to be able to help.

Any suggestions on who I should speak to or how I can get Virgin to look at this with some seriousness. 

Forum staff will pick this up, but can take a day or two (but in my view, waiting is better than trying to deal with the dismal phone "support").