February 6, 2012
Virgin Medias upgrade to it’s network to offer customers it’s 100Mb fibre broadband is ahead of schedule with 10 million UK homes already able to receive the service.
 Virgin Media had originally aimed to have covered it’s full network with the speed upgrade and offering 100Mb to all it’s customers by mid 2012, however they are ahead of schedule and now expect to have completed the rollout by Spring this year instead and will mean that around 26 million UK homes will be able to access the 100Mb broadband speeds on offer by Virgin Media.
As we reported last month (read here), Virgin Media were at least doubling the broadband speeds customers received (other than those on the 100Mb service who will receive an upgrade to 120Mb) and so those customers on the 50Mb offering currently will see their speeds double to the 100Mb service on offer, this is being done over the next 18 months for Virgin Media customers.
Jon James, the executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, said:
“Soon half the country will be able to get superfast 100Mb broadband from us. Reaching today’s milestone puts us ahead of schedule as we help propel the UK up the global broadband rankings. Broadband is coming of age as more people give up on slow DSL in favour of superfast fibre optic speeds. With Virgin Media yet again confirmed as the fastest by Ofcom just last week, this along with our fantastic TiVo TV service means we have an incredible combination that lets our customers enjoy the digitally connected world to the full.“
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June 10, 2011
Virgin Media’s 100Mb fibre broadband is now available to over 4 million UK homes with the rollout of this ultrafast broadband set to continue.
 Virgin’s fibre optic broadband network covers 13 million UK homes that by mid-2012 should hopefully all be covered by this 100Mb broadband that Virgin are rolling out. Currently over 100 towns across the UK have access to this super fast network from Virgin Media. Their fibre network consists of fibre optic cable to the street-side cabinet and then a coaxial cable form there to the users home to help offer these super fast speeds.
Virgin are able to boast that this 100Mb fibre broadband service can offer broadband speeds up to 16 times faster than the UK average broadband speed (reported by Ofcom in March to be 6.2Mb) and will mean that it could take just 5 seconds to download a full music album, a TV show in 30 seconds or a HD movie in 7 minutes.
Despite the big headline speeds the costs are still extremely competitive form Virgin, with the 100Mb broadband available from Virgin for just £35 per month when taken with a phone line, or for £45 when taken as a stand alone product.
Virgin are not looking to rest on their laurels with this headline package, they are already trialling a 200Mb broadband service and also believe that their network will have the potential to deliver broadband speeds up to a staggering 400Mb in the future.
Virgin Media executive director of broadband, Jon James, said:
“As data consumption rises and consumers grow increasingly reliant on their broadband service, only Virgin Media’s unique network is primed to cater for the UK’s impending data explosion. With four million homes now able to ‘get in the fast lane’ with our 100Mb service, the UK is racing up the broadband league tables and we’re delighted to be playing the leading role in boosting the UK’s digital infrastructure.“
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December 8, 2010
Virgin Media’s 100Mb broadband has now gone live for 4 lucky towns which make them the places with the fastest broadband in the UK.
 The 4 towns of Heckmondwike, Farnborough, Colchester and Barry in South Wales were the initial 4 places to have the new “ultra-fast” Virgin Media 100Mb fibre broadband go live. Along with the 100Mb download speeds it will also offer 10Mb upload speeds which is faster than much of the country can even manage as a download speed.
The new 100Mb broadband does require a new N standard router to deal with the increased speeds, however the router is future proof as it can deal with potential broadband speeds of 400Mb which may come in the future.
The cost for the Virgin 100Mb fibre optic broadband is £45 per month as a stand alone product although this is reduced to £35 per month when it is also taken along with a phone line from Virgin Media at £12.24 per month. Installation of the service is £40.
It is expected that the new service will be rolled out to the whole of the Virgin Media network by around mid-2012 which would cover around half of the UK.
Not to be left too far behind, BT are to launch their own 110Mb broadband service (conveniently slightly faster than Virgin Media) around March 2011. However, this will only be available to customers who receive FTTH/P (Fibre To The Home/Premises) from BT, although BT’s roll out of fibre optics in the main will be FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) which will offer a download speed of up to 40Mb.
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November 1, 2010
Virgin Media’s 100Mb pre-registration saw more than 10,000 people sign up for the new service ready for when it launches in December.
 The pre-registration for the new 100Mb fibre broadband service was opened on Wednesday and in the first 24 hours it is believed that over 10,000 customers signed up proving that there is a huge demand for super fast fibre broadband services.
The new 100Mb broadband service will initially be available to around 200,000 homes when it launches in December, but it is expected that by mid-2012 that all of Virgin Medias fibre optic cable network which covers 12.7 million homes will have access to these super fast speeds.
There was some questions asked if there was enough demand for the super fast broadband when Virgin Media currently only have 90,000 subscribed to the 50Mb broadband package but they said that they believe there is.
Neil Berkett, the Virgin Media Chief Executive told the Guardian newspaper:
“When we think the market is ready we will upgrade the network accordingly and launch products”
“The brilliant thing is with the scale and power of our network we could run 400Mb today. 100,000 lapped up 50Mb in the past 12 months, that gives an indication that the market is ready for 100Mb.”
Virgin clearly want to lead the way with the fastest broadband, so it is little wonder that they are offering this faster broadband speed when their main rival, BT, are currently rolling out their own fibre broadband network across the country.
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October 27, 2010
Hot on the heels of the news we reported yesterday that Virgin Media were to launch their 100Mb broadband this week and today we see that they have indeed announced the roll out of their new flagship broadband speed.
Pre-registration is open from today for those who want to get in the super-fast fibre broadband lane of 100Mb broadband which is double the headline speed that Virgin was offering of 50Mb, it will also offer upload speeds of 10Mb.
It is expected that it will take 18 months for the roll out of their upgrades across their network which they say will cover more than 12.7 million UK homes and offer next generation broadband that is nearly 20 times the current UK average broadband speed. The new service will go on sale in December for the first areas to be upgraded to it and then an extensive roll-out plan will extend the product across the Virgin Media network.
The chief executive of Virgin Media, Neil Berkett, said:
“The launch of our 100Mb service is a significant milestone in the UK’s broadband evolution and a vivid illustration of the power of our next generation network. From establishing the UK’s first ever broadband service in 2000 to the launch of 100Mb in 2010, in the space of just ten years, Virgin Media has led the greatest developments in digital Britain. The world of possibilities that broadband will enable is set to explode and we’re excited about the innovations we can bring to consumers in the next decade.”
The Virgin Media 100Mb broadband will cost £35 when bought with a phone line (£11.99) or £45 if bought as a stand alone service. There will be a £30 activation and £40 installation charge on top of this. It does come with a new “SuperHub” which not only a router that is designed to be power-efficient but is also capable of delivering broadband speeds up to 400Mb. A fair use policy will apply for the unlimited usage on the package.
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October 26, 2010
100Mb broadband from Virgin Media could arrive this week if Prime Minister David Cameron is to be believed.
The Prime Minister said during a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference that Virgin Media would be launching a super fast broadband 100Mb broadband service this week.
What Mr Cameron said was:
“…we’ll work with utility companies to get more investment in our energy, with construction companies on our roads, with the telecommunications industry on broadband. This collaboration is already working. Virgin Media is rolling out a new superfast broadband service this week.”
He soon followed up and said about the 100Mb broadband connection.
Virgin Media have not confirmed or denied the date that their new 100Mb broadband service is due to launch but it would be quite a safe bet that it will be some time this week if the prime minister is talking about it’s launch.
Last week it came out that a BT 110Mb fibre broadband service would be launched in March next year, with the cynical amongst us thinking it was to get “one up” on Virgin Media to be able to say that they are offering the fastest broadband in the UK.
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February 25, 2010
Virgin Media are set to start the roll out of their own 100Mb fibre broadband and help take broadband in the UK up to the next level.
 The news comes hot on the heels of yesterdays announcement by Fibrecity who announced the three broadband providers who would be offering the residents of Bournemouth their own 100Mb fibre broadband services.
The news that virgin Media are to start rolling out a 100Mb fibre optic broadband service will also be a blow to big rivals BT, who are currently rolling out their own fibre network “BT Infinity” that offers broadband speeds up to 40Mb.
Also, with Virgin already having it’s network available to around half of UK homes and businesses it gives them good footing to deploy their new technology to double their current headline speed of 50Mb to 100Mb.
Thew new speed increases come as part of Virgin’s DOCSIS 3 network which is already delivering broadband speed of up to 200Mb in Ashford, Kent where the initial trials are taking place. These trials are set to be extended now to Coventry where the trials will continue to focus on future technologies such as teleconferencing and downloading HD programmes on demand.
The other exciting news with this is that Virgin believe that the DOCSIS 3 network will be capable of broadband speeds up to 400Mb.
Neil Berkett, Virgin Media’s Chief Executive said:
“There is nothing we can’t do with our fibre optic cable network, and the upcoming launch of our flagship 100Mb service will give our customers the ultimate broadband experience. Just as we led the way by launching the UK’s first ever next generation service, we want to keep giving our customers the very best broadband available, by investing in technological innovation and transforming the experience they have when they are online. The launch of Virgin Media’s 100Mb service will be a historic moment and will mean the UK will be comparable to other leading broadband nations.“
Although this will likely be a bit of a blow to BT, as consumers hopefully we will see the benefit as the battle to offer the fastest broadband continues between Virgin Media and BT.
BT won’t want to stay a long way behind Virgin Media but unless they perhaps up their ambitions they could well be stuck behind, especially as Virgin Media have funded this with their own money and not been asking for tax payers money to fund it like BT was asking for to help with the roll out of their own fibre network.
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