In the latest development in its battle with BT to offer the fastest broadband speeds in the UK, Virgin Media has announced that it is to double the connection speed for all of its four million subscribers for no extra charge.
The company will also increase the maximum speed it offers from 100Mbps to 120Mbps for those customers paying for their highest level of service. BT only recently increased the maximum speed of the fibre optic broadband it offers to 100Mbps. Virgin Media believes the improved speeds will make the broadband phone and digital TV bundles they offer more enticing to potential customers, with a spokesman stating: “These speeds will ensure customers get high quality access to the huge growth in new online services.”
Virgin customers that are currently on 10, 20, 30 and 50Mbps deals can expect their speeds to double, a fact that David Cameron praised following the announcement. The Prime Minister said: “I welcome this announcement from Virgin Media; it will provide a great boost for the economy and change the way many households, consumers and businesses use the internet.”
The government has recently pledged £530 million in order to make sure the UK can boast the fastest broadband network in Europe by 2015.
The news comes soon after Sky announced a fibre optic network that boasts 100Gbps speeds to support subscribers that wish to download HD films in a bid to contend with both BT and Virgin Media for the title of Britain’s biggest broadband provider.
Virgin’s spokesman also said that the routers they will provide when the upgrade is rolled out will be capable of supporting broadband speeds of up to 400Mbps. This is possibly an indication that Virgin will be making further updates to their network in the future.