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There are big problems with Netflix speeds on Virgin Media, but who's responsible?

The two companies aren’t being particularly clear on what or who is causing the slow streaming speeds.

virgin

STREAMING GIANT NETFLIX is an established player in Ireland at this stage, but customer complaints regarding its speed on one network seem to be an ongoing cause for concern.

Slow Netflix speeds have been causing customers of Virgin Media (formerly UPC) a deal of consternation in recent times.

Last month, the company said that it was looking at fixing the situation where some of its customers were experiencing slow speeds for Netflix, or in some cases were unable to access the service at all.

The success of that particular operation seems to have been quite limited. While Virgin’s Netflix speeds were already fourth highest in Ireland in December, they’ve fallen a further two places to sixth in a speed chart for January 2016 compiled by Netflix itself.

This news inspires a number of questions – what is going on? Who is to blame? And is the issue going to be fixed?

1/10/2015. UPC Changes To Virgin Richard Branson arriving with a flourish at the launch of Virgin Media Ireland at the RDS last October Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

Customer-friendly

The problem would seem to be more of an issue for Virgin Media than for Netflix itself. Customers of the streaming engine can simply switch to another internet service provider (ISP) if they aren’t happy with the service they’re getting, albeit they may have to pay to break their contract (more on that just below). Netflix appears to be working fine on other ISPs as can be seen from the speed chart above.

Virgin have announced over the last week a price increase for Irish broadband customers of €5. But, for all those who aren’t big fans of reading the small print, this increase comes with a caveat – you can change or cancel your package at any time before 9 March 2016.

virgin

One would imagine that’s the last thing Virgin would want – when they took over the brand from UPC last October, the plan was to become more customer-friendly, not the other way round.

There has been some discussion on certain Irish online forums recently as to the issue regarding Netflix on other European ISPs owned by Liberty Global (Virgin Media’s parent company). Using the Netflix speed-calculator, it can be seen that the issue of slow speeds is not confined to these shores – it can also be seen in Switzerland (UPC Cablecom)Austria (UPC), the Netherlands (Ziggo), and Germany (Unitymedia).

The exception to this trend is in the UK where Virgin rules the roost when it comes to Netflix speeds.

Price Increase

TheJournal.ie asked the two stakeholders, Virgin and Netflix, what the issue was, who’s to blame, and what’s going to be done about it.

Virgin told us that the recently announced price increase is for broadband customers only and that the flat increase of €5 is reflective of the fact that usage for broadband is increasing by 30% per annum and the “ongoing investment” necessary to satisfy that demand.

When we queried as to whether or not the option to cancel the contract before 9 March was having much of an effect on Virgin’s customer numbers, we weren’t given a direct answer.

“This is usually reported retrospectively from quarter to quarter and we don’t comment specifically on customer attrition except to say we are confident that our services remain the most competitive in Ireland,” a spokesman said.

The same spokesman also asserted that Virgin’s broadband is the fastest in Ireland at present – which does seem to be the case.

However, given the popularity of Netflix, Virgin’s broadband being extremely fast is of little relevance at present to customers whose primary use for their home connection is the streaming service.

We pressed a little further on the issue between Virgin and Netflix. The answer we got was:

“Our network is operating entirely as normal, with plenty of capacity available to deliver to our customers the quality of service that they expect and deserve.”

We are aware of Netflix having issues delivering their content into Europe and are working with them to resolve matters as quickly as we can.
It is not a problem we can resolve by ourselves.

This sounds a little like a shifting-of-blame scenario. So we put the same question to Netflix. Its answer was non-committal:

“We work with ISPs everywhere, including Ireland.”

We are happy to work with ISPs to facilitate delivery of Netflix traffic in an easy and efficient manner benefiting joint customers.

So, the reason for the dropping of streaming speeds on Virgin’s network still seems to be unresolved.

For the record, Ireland’s communications regulator ComReg has received no complaints regarding Netflix on Virgin Media. At present anyway.

So the issue may not be doing any damage to either company.

That may change if streaming speeds continue to fall however.

Read: You better spend your €500 notes quickly, the big purple one could soon be scrapped

Read: UCD journalist defends report after investigation dismissing ‘revenge porn’ allegations

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79 Comments
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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Dec 10th 2013, 11:44 AM

    Why can we not call these excuses for human beings what they are – paedophiles; and what they do by its proper name, ie, paedophilia?

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    Mute Martin Bishop
    Favourite Martin Bishop
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    Dec 10th 2013, 11:23 AM

    We’ll be hearing about abuses in Africa, South America and Asia for many many decades to cone,
    I’m sure they’ll regret every one of them,

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    Mute DarthTempus
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    Dec 10th 2013, 11:28 AM

    They’ll apologise for their “failings” no doubt and move on whilst still indoctrinating impressionable and desperate african youths through lies and myths.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
    Favourite Dean Anderson
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    Dec 10th 2013, 11:47 AM

    Africa has just scratched the tip of the iceberg and so has South America and not just sexual abuse. A big issue for the catholic church and for other churches is the corruption that is endemic in the African church.

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    Mute declan hegarty
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    Dec 10th 2013, 2:04 PM

    What a great group of charitable people we have in our belovable church …….. They just keep giving and giving till the receivers cannot take it any more

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    Mute Patrick Brompton
    Favourite Patrick Brompton
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    Dec 10th 2013, 5:00 PM

    I worked as a lay teacher in a Kiltegan school in Africa for two years. I can honestly say that I never saw or heard of any type of abuse of children by any Kiltegan priest during those years, not even the corporal punishment which was standard in Irish schools at that time. I saw a great deal of good work being done by them in the school, in agricultural and fishing schemes and in vocational job training. I am not denying any of the problems identified in the Report and I am sympathetic to the victims. I want to record my own experience that they 10 or so Kiltegans I knew were decent men doing decent work, living lives frequently of great hardship in a remote region, and were a credit to Ireland.

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    Mute Tara Looney
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    Dec 10th 2013, 8:07 PM

    Agree, I know one of these priests personally, a really great and selfless man.

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    Mute Beabad Bishop
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    Dec 10th 2013, 8:35 PM

    Patrick Paedophiles don’t exactly go around raping children openly that might explain why you never saw or heard anything. Because let’s face it if you did you would have done something about it right ? And paedophilic cleric know that too so it would be in their interests to keep things secret ergo no evidence .Savvy !

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    Mute Patrick Brompton
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    Dec 10th 2013, 10:18 PM

    You are probably right, BB, but, so far as I am aware, no such allegations have come to light in the 40 years since I worked for them. Of those I knew, two have left the priesthood to get married. At least three others have died on mission and two came back to Ireland to die. Yet others are still working there, living lives of sacrifice and good example. Few of us have that strength and motivation, I certainly don’t. Sadly, proven allegations against one taint all. Let us respect the good work done.

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Dec 10th 2013, 12:01 PM

    I heard many years ago that a fund was available to support the children of Missionary’s. I was also told none of the fund was spent in Ireland, even though it was administered from a village in West Wicklow.

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    Mute Geert Wilders
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    Dec 10th 2013, 12:02 PM

    Wow really trying to gin up the anti-catholic acolytes today, 4 or 5 seperate articles no less.

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    Mute DarthTempus
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    Dec 10th 2013, 12:04 PM

    Geert there is a separate article for each diocese in today’s published report. This is corrwct and proper. This is an important piece of news and deserves to be covered as such.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Dec 10th 2013, 12:20 PM

    Lane comment Geert. Like many of the commentators on here I’m a catholic ,albeit not very active. Holding the church to account for its despicable actions is not anti catholic at all

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    Mute declan hegarty
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    Dec 10th 2013, 2:07 PM

    Maybe we should not report anything and sweep under the rug again…….and again……and again

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