facebook rss twitter

ISPs hit back at Virgin's 'broadband con' positioning

by Sarah Griffiths on 19 November 2010, 16:14

Tags: Virgin (NASDAQ:VMED), British Telecom (LON:BT.A), O2/Telefonica (NYSE:TEF)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qa26y

Add to My Vault: x

Now for O2...

Meanwhile, O2 clearly does not wish to be labelled a villain of the ISP world either and was keen to trumpet its new way of branding its broadband products that will focus on the suitability of a package to meet customers' needs instead of simply speed.

Felix Geyr, head of home and broadband at O2, said: "When we launched our new broadband packages in September we made it clear we wanted to ensure there was better clarity for consumers around speeds. We believe that packages should be designed around customers needs and not speeds.

"While speed is clearly important for customers it should not be the be all and end all. At O2 we believe that customers should be told, upfront, what they can expect but also that they should buy a package that suits their online activity. All our customers receive whatever line speed their line can handle.

"It is extremely important that the broadband market is cleaned up so that customers look for the right experience, customer service and value for money when they buy - not just headline speeds," he added.



HEXUS Forums :: 16 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Maybe BT and O2 should start a www.stopthebroadbandcapping.com campaign?

thats what made me leave virgin (along with they're stupidly high prices!) - The only ‘con-ing’ going on ere is them with their super sky high prices for 20MB+

The other ISP's are capable of providing high speeds - just a shame the cabling / exchange issues hold them back…..
That is laughable. Virgin trying to be the crusader for the consumer! What an utter joke! All O2 need to say is, ‘'what’s our customer satisfaction compared to yours Virgin Media?'' …nothing else, that would stop VM in their tracks!

That and those two words… traffic management!
This is all crap. Only stupid people will fall for it. Normal people will see through this crap for what it is.
usxhe190
This is all crap. Only stupid people will fall for it. Normal people will see through this crap for what it is.

In my experiance with Virgin we have always got the broadband speed that I have been paying for. I don't know a single person that gets the advertised up-to speed on ADSL.

Also, I think you have too much faith in the general public.

Number measures quality ==> bigger number, better. Buy the biggest number.

We have seen a similar formula for digital cameras, and to a slightly lesser extent, power supplies.

TBH I know that the headline speed is not the only thing I would need to look at if I was buying ADSL. Equally well, knowing an average speed for an ISP would be pretty pointless as well. So I don't care about this campaign. And have been quite frustrated by the irresponsible coverage that this campaign has recieved by some TV shows. (The Gadget show, I'm looking at you).
pipTheGeek
In my experiance with Virgin we have always got the broadband speed that I have been paying for. I don't know a single person that gets the advertised up-to speed on ADSL.

I wish i could say the same thing.

My friend on Virgin atm has had nothing but bad experiences, ranging from broadband only being useable during certain times of the day (usually before 10am and after 12am) and currently, constant packet loss and very poor speeds.

This is all despite promises that they were “looking into the issue” and that it would be “fixed” multiple times on different dates over the course of a month, all of which have improved the service slightly, but nowhere near what was expected.

He's had discounts for the previous month or two, but money back isn't really a substitute for appalling service. Not to mention when he told them that he was considering leaving them for a new provider they told him that he was out of the contract cancellation period (although i'm pretty sure that since their promise of providing broadband never held up, i would have said he'd have a case… but meh).