Broadband News

Virgin Media to roll-out 100Mb broadband

Thursday, 28 October 2010

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) will begin rolling out superfast 100Mb broadband from December 2010.

Customers connected to the new package will enjoy download speeds nearly 20 times faster than the national average, said the cable provider.

Roll-out will begin in December, bringing 100Mb broadband to Virgin Media’s 12.7 million customers by mid-2012.

Users will be able to download an entire music album in 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 seven minutes.

But Virgin Media said that households sharing their connection would see the biggest benefits, with everyone being able to use bandwidth hungry applications at the same time.

Neil Berkett, chief executive officer at Virgin Media, said: “The launch of our 100Mb service is a significant milestone in the UK’s broadband evolution.

“We have already seen a massive uptake in the number of customers watching video rich services and bandwidth hungry high-definition programmes and clips,” he added. “We are now in a world where people want the best connectivity with whatever screen they are using and those service providers that aren’t able to deliver this will simply be left behind.”

Virgin Media’s 100Mb broadband will cost £35 a month if taken with a phone line, or £45 a month as a standalone package.

But BT broadband (www.BT.com), which is also developing its own fibre optic broadband network, questioned the high costs of the package. “All superfast broadband is good for the UK and so it is encouraging to see Virgin Media say they will upgrade their network by 2012,” said the provider.

“Take up is as important as availability however and so we would question why Virgin Media is charging such a premium. Their new service is more than twice the price of BT's fibre product and so we are surprised by the high price when most family budgets are tight."

Compare broadband deals

Save up to £363* when you include TV and calls with your broadband

CLOSE [X]

*Enter your postcode to find the best broadband deals in your area. We value your privacy, please see our privacy policy.

Why we need your postcode