Farncombe Partners with the University of Bristol for WiFi Testing Service; Supported Launch of Virgin Media s Latest Super Hub

Highlights: Farncombe and the University of Bristol offer the industry's most rigorous independent WiFi CPE testing; Benchmarking quality of service and experience to support subscriber demands for simultaneous HD video on multiple devices; One of the first clients is Virgin Media for testing of its new Super Hub

Basingstoke, June 14th 2013 Farncombe, a leading independent provider of engineering services and testing to the global TV industry, today announced that it has partnered with the University of Bristol to offer the industry's most comprehensive and repeatable WiFi testing service. Virgin Media, one of the first clients for the service, appointed Farncombe for the independent testing of its new Super Hub; to provide input, technical recommendations; and to help Virgin Media support subscribers and optimise their quality of experience.

Farncombe launched the industry's first WiFi product benchmarking service for the connected home in 2012. The service is designed to help video service operators understand the effectiveness of WiFi-enabled set-top boxes, gateways, routers and clients.

At Virgin Media's request, Farncombe and the University of Bristol independently rated the throughput and reach of potential devices and compared them against other operators' WiFi devices. This helped Virgin Media ensure its recently-launched Super Hub became the best-in-class for cost/performance and quality of service. The testing helped prove that the new Super Hub is the best performing 5GHz router with three antennas currently available from UK operators.

Images of WiFi testing results (with acknowledgments to the University of Bristol).

Click on thumbnails to enlarge.

As subscribers demand simultaneous real-time streaming of HD video to multiple devices, there is a real need to understand how a WiFi router will impact the subscriber's quality of experience, said Gary Marshall, managing partner at Farncombe. Without thoroughly testing a consumer device, the risks for an operator can be huge. As well as incurring the costs of subscribers contacting call-centres and returning boxes, consumer dissatisfaction can damage a brand. Our service provides operators with invaluable data to help them understand the WiFi performance of their devices turning a black art into an understandable science.

Today's WiFi chips are powerful devices. With such clever technology you don't expect to have to twiddle the antennas to improve reception, just like the aerial on a 1970s TV set. Yet that is still often the case, said Professor Andrew Nix of the University of Bristol. By pooling the resources of academia and business, we provide a service that combines hardware and theoretical analysis. The result is the first-ever rigorous scientific approach to WiFi testing.

The number, type, position and angle of the antennas relative to the chips, power supply and casing all impact on the efficiency of the WiFi signal. To quantify these variables, the University of Bristol researchers have established an automated, repeatable process for benchmarking using its sophisticated channel emulation equipment. This uses a network of more than 100 PCs to analyse WiFi performance over 1.44 million links.

Mike Robinson, head of CPE quality engineering at Virgin Media said, We had two leading prototypes for the next generation Super Hub when we approached Farncombe and the University of Bristol for their recommendations. The resulting benchmarking gave us critical information on performance of the antenna design, positioning and its connection to the WiFi chipset that has resulted in the best-in-class WiFi router.

Farncombe conducts real-world testing to determine how the positioning of the router, access points and multiple clients impacts WiFi efficiency. Farncombe's Hardware Design Service also reviews the products and provides advice to clients on features that could cost-effectively improve performance.

Media Contacts:

For media enquiries:

Rachel Postlethwaite, Farncombe PR 07949 883636, rachel@rp-pr.co.uk

Dana Hashem, Virgin Media 0207 909 3299, dana.hashem@virginmedia.co.uk

Joanne Fryer, Bristol University 0117 331 7276, joanne.fryer@bristol.ac.uk

About Farncombe:

Farncombe provides independent world-class strategic consultancy, engineering and design services to leading innovators representing all areas of today's digital TV value chain. With offices in the UK, France and Germany, Farncombe's roster of clients includes many of the world's leading broadcasters, platform operators, telcos, hardware and software technology providers as well as government and regulatory bodies, private equity companies and other industry stakeholders. For further information, visit www.farncombe.com.

About Virgin Media:

Virgin Media is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK.

The company delivers ultrafast broadband connections to over half of all UK homes, with speeds of up to 120Mb, and is expanding this cable network the result of a multi-billion pound investment to reach thousands more people across the country.

Virgin Media has developed the most advanced interactive television service, bringing together broadcast TV, thousands of hours of on demand programming and the best of the web in a single set-top box powered by TiVo. The company was the first to offer HD TV and 3D on demand to millions of UK households.

Virgin Media also operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world's first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.

Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the London Stock Exchange (VMED).

For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.

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