Virgin Media has managed to deliver broadband speeds of 2.2Gbps in Southampton and Manchester, demonstrating the potential of its network infrastructure.
The company launched its gigabit service in late 2019, using a combination of fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) and cable technologies, and upgrades can be done remotely without the need to install cabinets or cables.
This dramatically speeds up the time of deployment and reduces costs and disruption as there is no need to dig up streets. Nearly half of the 15 million premises connected to the Virgin Media network now have access to the headline speeds of 1.1Gbps, with plans for full coverage by the end of 2021.
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Virgin Media gigabit
“We invest more than £1 billion into our network every year to deliver leading connectivity today, but our talented teams never stop pushing forward to ensure we’re ready to power our customers’ connectivity needs for whatever comes next,” declared Jeanie York, Virgin Media CTIO.
“Our services are being relied on and used more than ever before, and these innovative trials in Manchester and Southampton demonstrate how Virgin Media’s existing network is fit for the future with hyperfast, multi-gigabit broadband speeds delivered straight to customer homes.”
Virgin Media is one of several broadband providers investing in ultrafast broadband. Openreach plans to connect 4 million properties to full fibre by March 2021 and up to 20 million by the end of the decade. Meanwhile ‘alt net’ providers like CityFibre, Gigaclear and Hyperoptic are also rolling out fibre to the premise (FTTP) networks.
The company is set to complete a £31 billion merger with O2 later this year in a move that will create one of Europe’s largest telcos, complete with 40 million customers.
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