Dos_Box Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I take it I'm not alone in receiving one of this in my email the other day: [TABLE=width: 100%] [TR] [TD]Free WiFi access is coming to your area [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Hi, [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]We’re setting part of our powerful network free. So you can get online in places you never imagined – out and about and even underground. That includes all sorts of places near your home, on the tube, at the airport and around city centres. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Get ready for free WiFi access [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]In September, we’re enabling lots of Virgin Media Super Hubs (including the one in your home) to create new WiFi areas across the UK. As a Virgin Media customer, you’ll be able to access them all for free. With our clever service, you can automatically connect to smooth, speedy WiFi, wherever it’s available. That means you can crack on with tweeting, WhatsApping, Facebooking and more on the go, without eating up your mobile data allowance. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]How does it work? [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]We’ll switch on a separate internet connection to your Super Hub, which will become part of the WiFi network. But don’t worry, the broadband you love and pay for will stay exclusively yours – and remain just as secure. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Do I need to do anything? [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]You don’t have to lift a finger because there’s no installation or faff. Just sit back and enjoy your broadband as you do now. We’ll let you know when it’s up and running so you can download your Virgin Media WiFi app and get connected. If you have a Virgin Mobile phone and use our WiFi Buddy app, don’t worry, you’ll get a notification to let you know when you can update it to the Virgin Media WiFi app. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]If you’d rather not take part, no problem – just let us know. Simply register or sign in to your account at virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia and select My Profile. Bear in mind though, if you do opt out, you won’t be able to use Virgin Media WiFi when you’re out and about. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] With a 4g phone do I (or indeed anyone) really need this anymore?
hardtailstar Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 Not seen that email, I'd rather not have people sitting outside my house using the wifi.... I have enough 4G so this wouldn't really bother me.
matt40k Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 Got a letter in the post on Saturday. Personally, yes. I'm on the bottom end at 50mb and I've got bandwidth to spare most of the time, I've got 4G, but only 1GB, I can burn through that pretty quick if it wasn't for WiFi connections, the more public wifi hotspots I can access for free the better. Still tempted to get a FON hub just to get on the BT hotspots for free - https://shop.fon.com/en/product/fonera-1
Quackers Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 Hmmm, if i opt out does that mean i cannot use Virgin Media on the underground like i do now when i visit London.
sidewinder Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 The BT ones never seem to work at all. Every time I'm out and about and I can't get online, I look and it's because I've connected to a BT-Fon hotspot. I'm signed in and using the app, it works slowly occasionally but rarely. I wonder what percentage of peoples internet connections it shares, it can't be very much. The idea is nice though, happy to share a bit of my WiFi in return for access elsewhere - if it works
ICTDirect_Dave Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I love the BT wifi hotspots! My app logs me in no problem and i can use data without eating into my 1GB 4G allowance. Its one of the reasons I opted for such a small data bundle on my current deal, with the thousands of BT hotspots I don't have to worry about every really taxing my data usage unless I'm out in the back of byond, and even then I'm unlikely to be catching up on the Bake Off on my phone... Good on Virgin for doing somehting similar
sparkeh Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 You assume everyone has a 4g phone with a decent allowance. I don't have a 4g phone. I got the email and think its a good thing.
matt40k Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I'd assume the key difference between BT and Virgin is, BT is limited to copper - if you can physically only deliver 2MB to a property and they are using 2MB, you're stuffed, Virgin could deliver over 150MB to a house, so if I'm eating all 50MB, they could up the connection to 60MB then allocate 10MB to the free wifi - assuming that's what they do. Hmmm, if i opt out does that mean i cannot use Virgin Media on the underground like i do now when i visit London. Won't think so, would have assumed they've done a deal with them - ie we give your customers free wifi, we get to run our fibres around London via the underground for free\reduced cost
CAM Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I'd assume the key difference between BT and Virgin is, BT is limited to copper - if you can physically only deliver 2MB to a property and they are using 2MB, you're stuffed, Virgin could deliver over 150MB to a house, so if I'm eating all 50MB, they could up the connection to 60MB then allocate 10MB to the free wifi - assuming that's what they do. Won't think so, would have assumed they've done a deal with them - ie we give your customers free wifi, we get to run our fibres around London via the underground for free\reduced cost Probably London Undeground paying Virgin to provide the connection if you start thinking public sector economics. Wouldn't surprise me if TFL's metrics department have found a way to track passenger movement by MAC address or something. Speculation but recent events like the Cheapside Smart Bins makes you think.
sparkeh Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) Won't think so, would have assumed they've done a deal with them - ie we give your customers free wifi, we get to run our fibres around London via the underground for free\reduced cost I'm not so sure. Currently VM customers get it free, non VM customers can pay to use it. They could roll up the free access into this new scheme so you either take part or you are locked out (which the announcement kinda sounds like). Edited August 24, 2015 by sparkeh
Davit2005 Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 How does it work? We’ll switch on a separate internet connection to your Super Hub, which will become part of the WiFi network. But don’t worry, the broadband you love and pay for will stay exclusively yours – and remain just as secure. I've switched my VirginHub to Modem only mode due to issues, I'm not switching it back till they replace the SH 2 with something more reliable.
mthomas08 Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 You assume everyone has a 4g phone with a decent allowance. I don't have a 4g phone. I got the email and think its a good thing. I was thinking this, plus I don't always have signal yet there are times when I do see BT Wifi. There seems to be a big impression that 4g works on everything and is everywhere - it's not. I don't plan on upgrading my phone for at least another year - and that is not 4g. My allowance is enough to use the basics for and you can burn through that if you rarely use Wi-Fi.
howartp Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 Only time I've ever used BT Hotspots was on holiday about 5 years ago; had no phone signal where we were staying, but two houses at the end of the road had BT - so I drove down in the car and parked up for half an hour, several times during that fortnight! Worked fine, so Ive no problems sharing my 100mb VM wifi in return.
webman Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I read about this via Terence Eden's blog post - Virgin Media's Free WiFi Sharing Comes With A Cost which some may find interesting. 2
rich_tech Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I will be opting out, I had all the concerns raised in that blog tbh when I read this email, from experience it takes about a week for Wales to catch up with other areas on these new techs rolling out with VM. I think I will end up turning WiFi off on my netgear cable modem and getting a standalone wifi router for my cable. I dont fancy random strangers connecting to my home equipment regardless of it being vlanned off. (I know people can connect to the SSID, but thats as far as they get and I am happy with that)
fiendishlyclever Posted August 24, 2015 Posted August 24, 2015 I've got a fon router and am disappointed that Virgin have chosen (it would seem) their own system rather than an established system like fon. I find fon useful when someone has bt broadband and I have no mobile coverage, but living in a detached house the neighbours will only get a weak signal if any at all!
Davit2005 Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 I'm opting straight out if they start mucking around with the SH 2. I'd even go Fibre if it wasn't overly subscribed in the area.
fiendishlyclever Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 I'm opting straight out if they start mucking around with the SH 2. I'd even go Fibre if it wasn't overly subscribed in the area. I was tempted to try fibre but Sky quote me an estimated speed of 20meg. I'm 4km from the exchange but thought fibre to the cabinet was meant to be a solution to this? Having said that my Ofcom/Samknows monitoring box shows my Virgin 50meg connection often functions at 5 in the evening as my area has a utilisation fault (ie they signed up too many users to the service)
sparkeh Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 I guess this depends on balance whether participating in the scheme is worth it. I live near the end of cul-de-sac in a village with little traffic. Our wlan signal doesn't reach beyond our front door. The chances of anyone connecting to our hub is minimal. I'll trade that for more wifi when I'm out and about. If I lived in a busy city then I might reconsider.
rich_tech Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 I was tempted to try fibre but Sky quote me an estimated speed of 20meg. I'm 4km from the exchange but thought fibre to the cabinet was meant to be a solution to this? Having said that my Ofcom/Samknows monitoring box shows my Virgin 50meg connection often functions at 5 in the evening as my area has a utilisation fault (ie they signed up too many users to the service) Thats why I don't think I would go to BT again, seeing what my parents have gone through, BT don't essentially wire you to the nearest exchange in places, my parents have a much nearer exchange, but BT piggybacked them off a different exchange that they are maximum length from. Fibre isn't all its made out to be, my parents went from 1.5meg to 15 meg on their broadband when they upgraded, the cabinet for them is situated in a nearby industrial estate, so its about 0.5 km from the house by my guess at least, as the BT engineer spent 45 minutes locating it during their installation.
Chris_Jones Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 If you do use this, and someone else nearby does as well you could use it to double your internet speed
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