Fibre Optic Broadband
As well as providing multi-channel digital TV entertainment and voice calls, you can also access the internet at broadband speeds through Fibre Optic cable connections in the home. If you live in an area with cable access, then you can sign up for cable broadband services, which are currently available exclusively through Virgin Media, the multi-platform 'Quad Play' communications company formed after the merger of NTL:Telewest and Virgin.net. Getting broadband via a Fibre Optic connection has a number of advantages over the traditional ADSL/phoneline method in that faster top speeds are available, and the connection does not suffer from the 'distance from the exchange' slowdown.
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Select your package below:
| Provider | Package | Speed | Download Limit | Setup Cost |
Monthly Cost |
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 12 Months |
Virgin Unlimited 10Mb Broadband10Mbps broadband with unlimited downloads. FREE wireless router and security software. Broadband is FREE for the first 3 months! More Info » |
10Mbps | + | Unlimited*Broadband with no usage limit, but a fair usage policy does apply. | + | FREE | = | FREEFree for the first 3 months, £12.50 a month thereafter. This does not include the £11.99 a month phone line rental payable to Virgin Media. |
More Info  0800 840 5343
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12 Months |
Virgin Unlimited 20Mb BroadbandHigh-speed 20Mbps broadband with unlimited downloads. FREE wireless router. More Info » |
20Mbps | + | Unlimited*Broadband with no usage limit, but a fair usage policy does apply. | + | FREE | = | FREEFREE for the first 2 months, £20 a month thereafter. Must be taken with Virgin Media phone line rental charged at £11.99 a month. |
More Info 0800 840 5343
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12 Months |
Virgin Unlimited 50Mb BroadbandThe fastest broadband service in the UK is here! Virgin Media XXL Broadband gives you 50Mbps broadband FREE for the first 2 months, £28 thereafter, plus £11.99 line rental per month. More Info » |
50Mbps | + | UnlimitedBroadband with no usage limit. | + | FREE | = | FREEBroadband FREE for the first 2 months when taken with a Virgin phone line (unlimited Weekend calls). £28 a month thereafter. No set-up fees. Virgin Media phone line rental charged at £11.99 a month. |
More Info 0800 840 5343
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Fibre Optic Broadband
Fibre Optic Broadband services are delivered over cable connections - bundles of tiny plastic and glass fibres that transmit information via pulses of light forming an electromagnetic wave which transmits information from one end of the cable. This method of information transfer is more efficient than the traditional copperwire phoneline method, due to the fact that cable connections can stretch across huge distances without any noticeable difference in connection quality or speed. There is also virtually no 'crosstalk' interference between cables, so connections are also more reliable and less likely to see users being 'dropped' from the internet.
The data efficiency of Fibre Optic Broadband connections are so great that they allow for virtually unlimited download limits for broadband customers. Subscribers are free to download as many audio tracks, photos, software updates, patches for games and DVD-quality movies without having to worry about eating into a finite usage limit, or even worry about straying over an invisible and undefined fair usage.
Whilst there is no limit on downloads per se, with Fibre Optic Broadband services, there is usually a 'peak time' limit during which your downloads are usually restricted. This is because of the nature of how fibre optic connections are sourced to the home.
In a cable-enabled street, a Fibre Optic connection will generally run up to a single nexus in a local area, usually in an exterior cabinet; all connections from this cabinet then run off underground to individual premises. Because of this shared nature of connections, peak time limits are in place to ensure that there is a level playing field for all customers using the service; one person downloading hundreds of films would mean that other customers who just want to get online to check emails would have trouble doing so.
Currently, Virgin Media's 'traffic management' policy sees customers exceeding defined download limits between the hours of 4PM and 9PM have their connection speed dropped to up to 75 per cent of the top speed available for a 5 hour period - this means that if you're planning on doing some heavy downloading, all you have to do is wait until later in the evening to avoid having your connection dropped.
It's worth mentioning that on average Virgin Media only have to apply traffic management to roughly 5 per cent of their customers on average, so if you only download a handful of files and updates or a single film or game title during a peak time period, it's unlikely that you'll see your connection dropped.
As with ADSL Broadband, when talking about download limits here, it is important to note that general web use, i.e. browsing sites, using Facebook and Myspace, sending emails, contributes to a download limit. Just because you're not 'downloading' something, doesn't mean that you're not using bandwidth.
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