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Virgin Media 30Mb broadband vs BT Infinity 40Mb

Our Broadband Expert says...

For some people, having a superfast broadband connection could make a huge difference to the way you use the internet - especially if you’re a heavy downloader or have a large household who all want to get online at the same time.

Faster download and upload speeds mean that everything you do online will be quicker, easier and smoother - you'll be able to download music and movies in minutes or catch-up on high-definition programmes on the BBC iPlayer.

However, make sure you do really need, or want, the increase speeds offered by fibre broadband before you take the plunge as fibre packages can be much more expensive than traditional ADSL broadband connections.

The 30Mb broadband upgrade

Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) is known for providing very fast, reliable broadband connections over its cable network, coming out top in Ofcom speed tests.

Virgin Media's 30Mb broadband "XL" service replaced its original 20Mb broadband service. It delivers average actual download speeds of 30.62Mb.

Virgin Media's XL broadband package costs £18.50 when you take a cable landline too.

Customers on the 30Mb XL package also get “unlimited broadband” downloads, subject to a fair usage policy and upload speeds of up to 3Mb.

Virgin Media offers two additional superfast packages; a 50Mb service and a 100Mb broadband service, available across its entire network from mid-2012.

However by 2013, Virgin Media is planning to upgrade again, doubling its up to 30Mb connection to 60Mb, and increasing both its 50Mb and 100Mb packages to 120Mb.

BT Infinity

The three Infinity packages offered by BT broadband (www.BT.com) come with speeds of up to 40Mb or up to 100Mb; with different upload speeds and download allowances.

Option 1 comes with a 40GB download limit and upload speeds of up to 2Mb, while the Option 2 package offers “unlimited” downloads and uploads at up to 10Mb. Option 3 offers up to 100Mb downloads, 15Mb uploads - which BT claims is the fastest on the commercial market, and has an "unlimited" usage allowance.

If you're signing up to the Option 1 package, you'll also pay a £25 activation charge.

Like Virgin Media, BT is also planning a speed upgrade, taking its 40Mb package up to 80Mb during 2012.

What speed will I actually get?

Virgin Media consistently tops the list in Ofcom broadband speed tests, with its 30Mb package actually averaging speeds of 30.7-31.3Mb - faster than the advertised speed.

Although BT Infinity (www.BT.com/Infinity)'s 40Mb service performed well in speed tests, averaging between 32.9 and 34.8Mb, the differences in the technology that the two providers use to deliver their superfast broadband mean that BT's up to 40Mb service is unlikely to deliver top possible speeds to its customers.

Virgin Media runs cables directly into your home, allowing you to enjoy faster and more reliable broadband.

BT uses fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology for its 40Mb broadband packages. This means that the provider will run fibre optic cables to the green telephone cabinet on your road, and use traditional copper wires to complete the connection.

Because copper wires are still used in BT’s Infinity packages, there will still be some loss of speed depending on how far you live from the cabinet.

BT says it customers can expect an average of 30Mb downloads, with a minimum throughput of 15Mb.

Can I get Virgin Media or BT Infinity?

These new speeds are great, but they're not available to the whole country. Virgin Media’s cable network covers around half of the UK, while BT’s fibre optic network is currently available to around 10 million homes and businesses - though it plans to extend this to two-thirds of the UK by 2014.

The only way to know whether or not you can sign-up to a superfast broadband package from one of these providers is to run a postcode search and find out exactly what’s available in your area.

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