Virgin Media O2 Switches On New UK Converged Interconnect Network
Broadband ISP and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has today announced that they’ve switched on their new “next generation” Converged Interconnect Network (CIN), which brings together its fixed line (FTTP, DOCSIS) and mobile networks (4G, 5G etc.) in a way that will make them more efficient, resilient, scalable and flexible.
The CIN effectively takes the core deeper into VMO2’s network, with IP routed networks deployed in the access network. This allows different services to coexist on the network and be managed more easily, with the end customer moving closer to an optimised, scalable and high-capacity network (i.e. data is aggregated closer to the end user before routing it back to the core network).
Consumers could also benefit from new products in the future, although they will initially see benefits from this via “improved latency, faster response times and a superior network performance“. Additionally, the architecture of the new CIN means there is no single point of failure, which VMO2 hopes will “reduce the likelihood of disruptive network outages and ensure greater reliability” across broadband and mobile services.
Advertisement
The CIN architecture also supports VM Business Wholesale’s 10Gbps services and allows wholesale partners to scale their operations quickly and easily with high-bandwidth, ultra-reliable connectivity.
Jeanie York, VMO2’s Chief Technology Officer, said:
“The switch on of our Converged Interconnect Network is a critical moment in our long-term strategy and evolution as we combine the power of our two scaled networks to give customers an unrivalled experience. This new network architecture brings together two separate networks for the first time, enabling more efficient, scalable and resilient data movement. It enables us to deliver next generation services to our broadband and mobile customers across the country, ensuring we’re ready to keep on meeting their needs both now and in future.”
Virginie Hollebecque, VP and Leader of EMEA at Ciena, said:
“Virgin Media O2’s new CIN marks a significant milestone in the operator’s network evolution by joining together its fixed and mobile networks to create a more sustainable, streamlined, and scalable infrastructure. Leveraging Ciena’s advanced networking solution, the CIN architecture optimises efficiency, improves network resiliency, and enhances service delivery to keep pace with the evolving needs of Virgin Media O2’s customers.”
The goal of producing a truly converged network is something that Virgin Media and O2 have been working toward ever since their merger several years ago, which is not dissimilar to the approach that BT and EE have already taken. But it still took BT and EE a long time to fully realise the benefits of this, which some might say is still an ongoing effort (i.e. getting the network side in place is one thing, but developing new products and services around it also takes a long time).
In theory, this could open up the way for VMO2 to treat end-user connectivity on fixed broadband and mobile as one seamless connection (e.g. BT’s HALO solution and 4G/5G backup systems), although such ambitions often struggle when operators start charging large premiums in order to access those benefits. Time will tell whether VMO2 goes down the same route or opts to just keep all of this in the background.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
« Virgin Media O2 UK Offer Free Access to AI Search Engine Perplexity Pro
Advertisement
Leave a Reply
Privacy Notice: Please note that news comments are anonymous, which means that we do NOT require you to enter any real personal details to post a message. By clicking to submit a post you agree to storing your comment content, display name, IP, email and / or website details in our database, for as long as the post remains live.
Only the submitted name and comment will be displayed in public, while the rest will be kept private (we will never share this outside of ISPreview, regardless of whether the data is real or fake). This comment system uses submitted IP, email and website address data to spot abuse and spammers. All data is transferred via an encrypted (https secure) session.
NOTE 1: Sometimes your comment might not appear immediately due to site cache (this is cleared every few hours) or it may be caught by automated moderation / anti-spam.
NOTE 2: Comments that break our rules, spam, troll or post via known fake IP/proxy servers may be blocked or removed.
Latest UK ISP News
- FTTP (6032)
- BT (3642)
- Politics (2722)
- Business (2442)
- Openreach (2406)
- Building Digital UK (2330)
- Mobile Broadband (2150)
- FTTC (2083)
- Statistics (1904)
- 4G (1820)
- Virgin Media (1766)
- Ofcom Regulation (1584)
- Fibre Optic (1469)
- Wireless Internet (1463)
- 5G (1409)
Please explain this in layman’s terms I have virgin media will I see any improvement?
they have vlans now.
I’m with you there Mathew. I’ve no idea what it’s all about
If this converged network will improve the laughable connectivity that we experience with VMB then that will be step in the right direction. Longest term connection without interruption this year on FTP is 9 days. But many days repetitive dropouts occur and VMB cannot fix this so far.
Surely this mostly about reducing cost/overheads by sharing bandwidth. Doesn’t necessarily mean more becoming available, just ability to share and as it’s VM, save money by removing what they see as excess in previous separate networks.
Better use of fibre, more resilience, more flexibility, easier capacity upgrades going forward. Getting more bandwidth to O2 masts much easier and cheaper.
Then, at what cost to the consumer?
No extra. Business as usual network upgrade.
Absolutely. This is VM we’re talking about. Corporate greed has no limits.
Does this mean that when Virgin goes down so does the O2 mobile network?
In this case having an O2 sim as a backup to a Virgin line might become a bit useless…
Unless it’s the entire network it doesn’t, no.
@Lucian: Crucially there isn’t a single point of failure. For one thing, the reported aggregation of data closer to the edge distributes processing, i.e. reduces reliance on a single core location for the processing of that data.
I’m with both O2 for my mobile and they has been a vast improvement in mobile data speed, was only getting around 5meg and that was on 4g, today I’m now getting 110 meg download and 11meg upload which is great news
I have nothing but trouble with my Internet dropping out and I still have a room im pushed to even get Internet even with boosters and we have the top package and surposely one of the best conextions in town it takes all its timeto do the TV and for my ring alarm system ha ha they need to do better
O cannot receive txt from.a road anymore as bank confirmation details etc
And still no IPv6 on either their mobile or fixed line services. BT have had it for nearly 10 years, and smaller providers for a lot longer than that.
VM does actually have IPv6 support on some lines, they just don’t properly advertise the routes or support DHCPv6 so your router will not grab an IPv6 address. You need to change your own router’s ‘accept_ra’ kernel setting to 2 to get it to accept the routes and then manually assign an IPv6 address.