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Virgin Media’s blisteringly fast 100Mb broadband roll-out has now passed a landmark four million homes, giving families in the UK the ability to enjoy a service able to deliver over sixteen times the average national broadband speed1. Powered by Virgin Media’s unique fibre optic network, the UK’s leading broadband service is now available to over 100 towns across the UK from Cwmbran to Clydebank with roll-out across the remainder of its network of nearly 13 million homes on track to complete by mid-2012.
With the number of devices connecting to the internet due to double the world’s population by 20152, Virgin Media’s ultrafast 100Mb broadband service is designed to help the UK stay at the forefront of the digital revolution. Perfectly poised to cope with the growing demands of computers, games consoles, mobile smartphones and even connected TVs, the incredible 100Mb service allows the whole family to enjoy getting online together, without the dreadful buffering that plagues ADSL broadband.
At such high speeds, using Virgin Media’s 100Mb service means downloading an entire music album can take as little as 5 seconds; a TV show in around 30 seconds, a high quality movie in as little as 1½ minutes and a high definition movie in around 7 minutes4. The ultrafast 100Mb service will also make sharing content even easier with up to 10Mb upload as standard, meaning sending photos, uploading video or even running live video chat with friends or family across the world is now easier than ever before.
Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media 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."
Every new 100Mb broadband subscriber receives a custom built, energy efficient, combined modem and wireless ‘N’ router5, which has the potential to deliver speeds of up to 400Mb as new services roll-out in the future6. The new ultrafast service costs as little as £35 a month7 when taken with a phone line, or just £45 per month when bought as a sole product.
Virgin Media is also currently trialling 200Mb services and has deployed a cutting-edge 1.5Gb cable broadband trial in East London.
For further information please visit www.virginmedia.com/100.
Notes to Editors
1 Ofcom UK Fixed Broadband Speeds report (02/03/2011) indicates average UK broadband speeds at 6.2Mb as at Nov/Dec 2010. http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/telecoms-research/bbspeeds2011/bb-speeds-nov-2010.pdf
2 Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast (2010-2015) indicates that:
- By 2015, annual global IP traffic will reach 966 exabytes - nearly a zettabyte
- By 2015, there will be nearly three billion Internet users
- By 2015, there will be nearly 15 billion global network connections (fixed and mobile personal devices and machine-to-machine connections)
- By 2015, the world will reach three trillion Internet video minutes per month; that is one million Internet video minutes every seconds
3 Download times are estimated and calculated based on full-rate downloads on a wired connection, with 5% allowance for Internet Protocol transfer and connection overheads. The size used for calculation is a high quality movie at 1.1GB.
4 Network: The 100Mb service runs over Virgin Media’s next-generation fibre optic network based on the EuroDOCSIS3 standard which gives Virgin Media the ability to deliver a consistent broadband experience regardless of where customers live and is not affected by distance-related speed degradation.
5 SuperHub: The 100Mb service comes with a modem capable of delivering speeds of up to 400Mb in the future using a wired connection. The SuperHub comes complete with Gigabit network connections, and 802.11n wireless with switchable dual-band (2.4GHz/5GHz) capability. Gigabit network connections are needed in order to receive the full 100Mb service over wired connections and Gigabit compatible home equipment must be used.
6 Package: The 100Mb service includes the new ‘SuperHub’ combined modem and router, designed to be power-efficient whilst offering best in class connectivity features including dual-band wireless ‘N’ technology, an unlimited service (acceptable use policy applies), Virgin Media Security Total anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, and Virgin Media’s Online Backup and Storage service. Virgin Media uses traffic management at peak times to ensure the vast majority of customers receive the high quality of service they expect.
7 Pricing: Virgin Media’s 100Mb broadband service will cost £45 per month as a stand-alone service or just £35 when taken with a phone line (currently £12.99). Customers with additional Virgin Media services will benefit from additional bundle discounts. Activation (£30) and installation (£40) charges apply.
Availability: The100Mb service is now available for sale and installation to over 4 million UK homes. Customers can order, pre-register or check to see currently enabled areas at www.virginmedia.com/100.
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About Virgin Media
Virgin Media is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK.
The company’s cable network – the result of multi-billion pound private investment – delivers ultrafast broadband to over half of all UK homes, with speeds of up to 120Mb, as well as market leading connectivity to thousands of public and private sector organisations across the country.
Virgin Media has developed the most advanced interactive television service, bringing together broadcast TV, thousands of hours of on demand programming and the best of the web in a single set-top box powered by TiVo. The company was the first to offer HD TV and 3D on demand to millions of British households.
The world’s first virtual mobile network was launched by Virgin Media and it is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.
Virgin Media is a part of Liberty Global plc, the world’s largest broadband communications group. Together Virgin Media and Liberty Global serve 25 million customers across 14 countries, helping connect people to the digital world and enabling them to discover and experience its endless possibilities.
For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com