Which broadband provider?

[Dinarius]

I had bb with sky and seamlessly switched at the end of the contract.

I had a mare trying to close my Sky account (I was out of contract) with a woman in one of their Asian call centers. She kept saying that she had to complete "protocols" and wouldn't close the contract unless I revealed who my new supplier was and how much they were charging me. It got quite heated and I hung up. I rang back and got someone else. I told him that my new supplier could offer me 1Gb speeds and I asked if Sky could? When he replied, "No.", we moved onto the next stage and the account was closed.

Not a pleasant experience.

D.

 

[Páid]

This is the Sky Ireland number I used to cancel 0818 500 235. I found it much easier.

 

[Blackrock1]

I had a mare trying to close my Sky account (I was out of contract) with a woman in one of their Asian call centers. She kept saying that she had to complete "protocols" and wouldn't close the contract unless I revealed who my new supplier was and how much they were charging me. It got quite heated and I hung up. I rang back and got someone else. I told him that my new supplier could offer me 1Gb speeds and I asked if Sky could? When he replied, "No.", we moved onto the next stage and the account was closed.

Not a pleasant experience.

D.

why did you need to call them at all? just sign up to the new provider if you are out of contract.

 

[jpd]

If you don't cancel, they will continue to invoice you monthly - as you haven't cancelled the contract, they are entitled to do this

You may be "out of contract" but that doesn't mean they can't charge you

 

[Blackrock1]

If you don't cancel, they will continue to invoice you monthly - as you haven't cancelled the contract, they are entitled to do this

You may be "out of contract" but that doesn't mean they can't charge you

In the 5 times ive switched over the past 5 years it has ported from one provider to another, same as moving electricity provider, i dont need to cancel with the existing.

 

[skrooge]

If you don't cancel, they will continue to invoice you monthly - as you haven't cancelled the contract, they are entitled to do this

You may be "out of contract" but that doesn't mean they can't charge you

In the 5 times ive switched over the past 5 years it has ported from one provider to another, same as moving electricity provider, i dont need to cancel with the existing.

I think it depends on who (or rather what infrastructure) you're switching from/to.

If old and new provider is coming in through the line managed by Eir then it should be relatively seamless. Likewise if it's over SIRO - I think - processes are in place. However, if by switching you jump between infrastructure (traditional phone line, SIRO and VM) then it gets messy.

 

[Dinarius]

I think it depends on who (or rather what infrastructure) you're switching from/to.

If old and new provider is coming in through the line managed by Eir then it should be relatively seamless. Likewise if it's over SIRO - I think - processes are in place. However, if by switching you jump between infrastructure (traditional phone line, SIRO and VM) then it gets messy.

Precisely. My Sky box was still fully functional, so they had every right to keep charging for it, until I cancelled it. This is nothing like gas an electricity where all providers piggy-back on the same infrastructure. D.

 

[Blackrock1]

Precisely. My Sky box was still fully functional, so they had every right to keep charging for it, until I cancelled it. This is nothing like gas an electricity where all providers piggy-back on the same infrastructure. D.

As he said it can be, I have ftth which I assume you are on now , in that scenario you don’t need to cancel just switch !

 

[Dinarius]

I was on satellite dish with Sky. I’m now on Apollo 360 box (tv via WiFi, like a Google dongle) with Virgin. So, seamless switching back won’t be possible. But, that’s a year away.

D.

 

[Dinarius]

As he said it can be, I have ftth which I assume you are on now , in that scenario you don’t need to cancel just switch !

Ps. I'm not sure what you mean by FTTH. As in, can the cable that Virgin are currently using to supply my BB be used by another supplier? Virgin installed this cable, so isn't is theirs?

Thanks.

D.

 

[Blackrock1]

I was on satellite dish with Sky. I’m now on Apollo 360 box (tv via WiFi, like a Google dongle) with Virgin. So, seamless switching back won’t be possible. But, that’s a year away.

D.

your sky broadband wasnt coming via the satellite though. FTTH is fibre to the home. Virgin are usually on their own infrastructure and then a number of suppliers use the openeir or siro infrastructure to deliver broadband.

 

[Dinarius]

your sky broadband wasnt coming via the satellite though. FTTH is fibre to the home. Virgin are usually on their own infrastructure and then a number of suppliers use the openeir or siro infrastructure to deliver broadband.

Thanks.

I've been with Virgin for BB for years. I had Sky for tv only, and that for a long time too. I opted for a Virgin all-in bundle for this year.

D.

 

[elcato]

I’m now on Apollo 360 box (tv via WiFi, like a Google dongle) with Virgin.

Sorry, Can you explain this. Did VM supply the box and this is their latest BB/Tv package ? as oppose to the TV set top box and separate router option thru co-ax ?

 

[Dinarius]

Sorry, Can you explain this. Did VM supply the box and this is their latest BB/Tv package ? as oppose to the TV set top box and separate router option thru co-ax ?

Yes. If you Google the Apollo 360, you can read about it. All you get is that box, which is about the size of a packet of cigarettes, and a remote control. It took ten minutes to install. Like a Google dongle, it takes its feed by WiFi from our VM router which is in my upstairs office. (I leave the router there since I have two computers connected directly to it by cable)

I’ve had very occasional buffering so far, even though the signal next to the 360 box is about 45-50Mbps (as measured doing a speed test on my phone) But, it’s really very good.

The only real problem is that I can’t yet record programs - the 360 uses cloud recording. Apparently, I’m not the only one who has this problem with that box. (Though a friend who had his 360 installed the same week as me has had no problem.) They say they’re working on it and a credit will be applied to my account when it’s fixed, backdated to the day I reported it. We’ll see.

D.

 

[elcato]

I’ve had very occasional buffering so far, even though the signal next to the 360 box is about 45-50Mbps (as measured doing a speed test on my phone) But, it’s really very good.

So are VM going to streaming and away from co-ax then. That's bad news as most streaming boxes I, ahem, have seen has slight buffering issues now and then which I don't ever remember on the co-ax.

 

[Dinarius]

Unless your router is in the same room as the tv, or your house is wired for coax, then yes they are offering the 360 box.

Sky are heavily advertising their equivalent at the moment.

D.

Ps. If the buffering gets worse - it’s only happened on Sky sports a few times so far - I’ll put a WiFi booster in the tv room.

 

[elcato]

Ah so this is an alternative to co-ax should you not have a connection. Fair nuff.

 

[Dinarius]

Two weeks in, my experience so far with this piece of Virgin Media kit...
https://community.virginmedia.com/t...-images-5501367=221959iAE505DCC4FF95F6A#M5370

TV & Broadband Deals, Add streaming TV to any broadband package for just €15 a month

Take your entertainment to the next level with Virgin Media’s broadband deals, featuring speeds up to 2Gb and the best TV packages. It’s Playtime

www.virginmedia.ie

1. My wifi connection (via a speedtest check on my phone) is consistently 45-50 Mbps.
2. This is more than enough to stream tv in the normal HD we have.
3. It is also borne out by ************************* Netflix (accessed via the VM 360 streaming box) and ************************* Google Dongle streaming.
4. Despite this, we are having constant buffering problems, especially on HD channels.
5. Also, I was told that we would be able to record tv to cloud storage via the Apollo 360 box. It says so on my contract. They now say this isn't possible, but they're working on it. Not good enough, I'm afraid.

In short, I'm not getting what I'm paying for. I have to wonder if a normal tv box connected to the VM router upstairs via a power-line adapter would have been better. But, the VM engineer who installed the Apollo 360 insisted it was the way to go.

A bad experience with Virgin Media.

D

Ps. The above link is just to show what kit I'm using, not what package I'm on.