After revealing that they are aiming to deliver ‘up to’ 50Mbps cable broadband products, Virgin Media’s Director of Technical Strategy, Kevin Baughan has expressed caution that many 802.11 based home Wi-Fi networks may be unable to cope with the new speed limits.
Recent trials have found that many Wi-Fi routers were unable to cope with the new speed, and PCs also struggled and had to be regularly reset. However, the Wi-Fi models used in the tests weren’t revealed.
Speaking on Connected Home News Baughan said: “We don’t want to be called up [at the customer care centre] too often…There are lots of opportunities for people to complain about the service so as we look at our roadmap, we have to understand that as speeds increase, it is quite demanding to make sure all the pieces in the home can function at those speeds.”
He continued: “50 Mbps is not so much about speed but the fact that speed no longer matters for people…The biggest lesson from the trial is that the access network stops being a constraint. It lets people get on with what they want to do; it doesn’t stop people from doing anything any more.”
Baughan concluded that he believes 9m UK homes will be able to access 50Mbps this year, rising to 12.5m by 2009.
Source: ISPreview
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well at least he’s informing people of what may happen if the 50 meg service was to go live, and not hide the fact. virgin media have made a few mistakes with false promises, but it looks like things are changing for the better.