Virgin Media Preparing New Cloud UI for Hub 3 Broadband Routers

Customers of UK cable TV and broadband ISP Virgin Media may soon be getting a new User Interface (UI) for their Hub 3.0 wireless routers, which is currently being trialled. The new “Cloud Connect” UI is described as offering a seamless and real-time “Netflix like” cloud based experience.

The use of the word “cloud” tends to denote some sort of remote web-based management system (i.e. controlling your router remotely over the internet or via an app), which may well build on the changes that were introduced as part of their recent “Intelligent Wi-Fi” upgrade (here); the latter was similarly described as being a “smart cloud-based, adaptive system“.

Personally we’ve always been a touch nervous, from a local network security and privacy perspective, about the idea of sharing control of home broadband routers out remotely via the internet, although at present we don’t know enough about Virgin Media’s trial to judge. Likewise using “Netflix” as an example may result in a mixed response, since some people love that UI and others find it infuriating. Netflix is also rather different from a router.

On the other hand, depending upon precisely how they do this, a new cloud-based UI could give their support teams a lot more control to tackle common home network and broadband problems, which would be extremely handy. We just hope they allow customers the option to continue using a local UI (at present it doesn’t look like they will).

Our sources indicated that the current trial involves an update of the Hub 3.0 router to firmware v5.0.1 (older SuperHubs seem unlikely to get this upgrade), which may change before it reaches general release. We did ask Virgin Media yesterday morning if they could shed some extra light on all this but we’re still awaiting some official feedback. We may have more details on Cloud Connect later.