Why can't I get Virgin Media cable even though my neighbours can?

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I recently went to the Virgin Media site and put in my postcode. It said the Virgin Media broadband service was available so I placed an order for one of Virgin Media's broadband and phone bundle packages.

I then received an email back saying that they wanted to check out a few things and would reply in 10 working days. I heard nothing from them, but then - after making a few calls - a man in a van arrived and despite several other properties in my cul-de-sac being on Virgin Media they said they would not run a cable to the property.

Have you heard of this? Is this now Virgin Media policy? Seems a bit strange considering all the advertising they do wanting people to sign up.
Steve Hudson, UK

Yes, you are not the only one to be left stumped by the fact that your neighbours can receive Virgin Media cable broadband but you can't.

Without knowing the exact reason why your house is not connected but your neighbours are, you can safely assume that back when the cable infrastructure was laid in the 90's, your house was unfortunately excluded.

As to why they won't lay a new cable just for you, well, the simple answer is economics. Virgin Media can surely do with your business, but the actual cost of digging up the pavement to give your house access (ignoring any reason why this was not done in the first place) would far exceed any revenue Virgin Media would be able to generate from you.

It is no secret that Virgin Media inherited a tumbledown, half-hearted cable network from NTL and Telewest and that their budget for extending this network is miniscule. In a nutshell, it looks unlikely that the Virgin Media cable network is going to expand at all. Rumours on the broadband grapevine suggest, in fact, that Virgin Media will instead focus on a LLU copper wire solution instead, the same way Tiscali have.

For now though, you'll have to settle for another broadband and phone provider, I'm afraid.

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