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When will I be able to get 100Mb broadband?

Our Broadband Expert says...

Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) announced last week that it would be rolling out a new 100Mb broadband service from December 2010.

Using its cable broadband network, the provider will be able to deliver 100Mb download speeds, as well as uploads up to 10Mb.

If you're running at full speed, this will allow you to download an entire music album in as little as five seconds; a TV show in around 30 seconds, a high quality movie in as little as 1½ minutes and a high-definition movie in just seven minutes, says Virgin Media.

But it is families and homes that share their internet connection that will benefit most from the faster speeds, according to Virgin Media. “Research has shown the service will truly come into its own when more than one person in a household is using the service at the same time,” says the provider. “Following trials of 100Mb and 200Mb speeds, the company found internet usage increased exponentially, providing users with a hassle-free and enjoyable way to access entertainment and everyday services.”

Neil Berkett, chief executive officer at Virgin Media, added: “We have already seen a massive uptake in the number of customers watching video-rich services and bandwidth-hungry high-definition programmes and clips.”

Why get 100Mb broadband

Clearly the biggest benefit to Virgin Media’s new package is the extremely fast download speeds that it offers. This means that you can download a high-definition movie, stream content from the BBC iPlayer, play online games and upload files to your office server - without any loss in connection speeds.

Other benefits include:

• Fast uploads. Virgin Media’s 100Mb broadband package will also offer uploads at up to 10Mb - perfect for home office users or online gamers
• No fair usage policy. Like its 50Mb package, the 100Mb service will offer truly unlimited downloads - without a fair usage policy
• No traffic management. Virgin Media says that it at launch, it won’t apply any traffic management at the customer end. This means that you'll never have your speed reduced because you've downloaded too much. However, as with all its broadband services, “there is network-level traffic management during peak times” to ensure consistent speeds, says the supplier.

When will 100Mb broadband be available in my area?

The first areas to receive the new superfast broadband package will be parts of London, the South East and Yorkshire in December 2010.

Virgin Media will then roll-out the service across its cable network, which covers around 51% of the UK, offering 100Mb broadband speeds to 12.7 million homes by 2012.

However, the company hasn’t yet revealed a full roll-out schedule so it’s not possible to see when your area will be activated for the faster speeds. You can register your interest at www.Virginmedia.com/100 and Virgin Media will let you know when you'll be able to sign-up.

Virgin Media’s 100Mb broadband package will cost £35 a month if you take a landline for an extra £13.90 a month, or £45 a month if you take it as a standalone product.

100Mb broadband alternatives

Even if Virgin Media’s 100Mb service isn’t currently available in your area, you can still sign-up to its superfast 50Mb broadband package. Speeds of up to 50Mb are already available to all of Virgin Media’s customers, and the package comes with the same benefits as the new 100Mb deal - with no fair usage policy or traffic management.

If you don’t live in a cable broadband area, you won’t be able to sign-up to one of Virgin Media’s superfast broadband packages. But BT is also rolling out its own fibre optic broadband network. Its BT Infinity packages offer speeds of up to 40Mb broadband, with uploads at either 2Mb or 10Mb depending on the option you choose.

Its packages start from less than £20 a month, but because it uses fibre-to-the-cabinet services - with copper wires from your street cabinet to your home - speeds won’t be as fast as if you had cable running all the way into your property.

BT plans to have four million homes and businesses connected by the end of 2010, and two-thirds of the country connected to its fibre network by 2015. It has also revealed plans to launch its own fibre-to-the-home packages in early 2011, offering speeds of 100Mb in selected areas.

NB Best buy tables are always current.

Examples in the text of the article are correct at time of publication.

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