LONDON, Feb. 24, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virgin Media (Nasdaq:VMED), the UK's largest home broadband provider, today announced a major programme to move millions of its current 2Mb customers up to a superfast 10Mb service -- continuing its role as the pacesetter for high-speed broadband. Leveraging the recently increased capacity of its network(1), Virgin Media's new fibre optic product portfolio now comprises 'up to 10Mb', 'up to 20Mb' and the recently launched ultrafast 'up to 50Mb' service.
The 10Mb service puts superfast broadband into the hands of mainstream consumers, enabling them to enjoy an experience usually restricted to early-adopters. At just 14 pounds a month when taken with a Virgin Phone line(2), Virgin Media's 10Mb service will provide customers with a service that could typically cost a total of over 30 pounds(3) per month from competitive ADSL providers, yet offers more than double the throughput(4) of comparable 'up to 8Mb' services setting a new standard for entry-level broadband in the UK.
The migration of customers from 2Mb to 10Mb is expected to take place from May and represents the largest-scale speed upgrade ever to take place in the UK. The migration programme forms part of a long term plan to ensure all Virgin Media customers have the speed they need to take advantage of the best the internet has to offer, and is just one initiative enabled by Virgin Media's investment in its Next Generation Broadband platform.
The 10Mb service will allow more people in a household to use high bandwidth services, such as BBC iPlayer or online games at the same time, providing UK consumers with the only entry-level service truly fit for today's connected home. The new baseline service also supports the Government's Digital Britain policy agenda and reinforces Virgin Media's unique position as the catalyst for high speed broadband adoption.
Neil Berkett, chief executive of Virgin Media said: "Our entry-level broadband product is now twice the speed of comparable services and, with our new 10-20-50 range, we clearly offer the highest quality broadband service in the UK. The migration of millions of 2Mb customers to 10Mb is only possible because of the power of our next generation network and is just one example of how we are creating exciting propositions for consumers which provide transformational experiences and go way beyond their expectations. Coupled with our recently launched 50Mb service, we are proactively developing the UK's broadband market, driving consumer expectations and the demand for high speed broadband services."
To find out more about Virgin Media's products and services, visit www.virginmedia.com.
Notes to Editors
(1) Virgin Media is currently upgrading its network with the latest DOCSIS3.0 technology which, in addition to its legacy network, will triple the data-carrying capacity of the Virgin Media network (2) Virgin Phone line costs 11 pounds per month, including free weekend UK landline voice calls. (3) Based on a typical cost of ADSL2+ services when taken with a phone line. Excludes special offers. (4) Epitiro ISP-I Performance Stats indicate average throughput performance on comparable services in Q4 2008 was: Virgin Media 10Mb (6.9Mb) vs 'up to 8Mb' on BT (3.4Mb), Tiscali (2.5Mb), Orange (2.1Mb), Pipex (1.2Mb).
About Virgin Media
With almost 10 million customers, Virgin Media is the UK's first quad-play provider of broadband, TV, phone and mobile.
The company is the largest residential broadband provider in the UK, using a unique fibre optic cable network to deliver next generation ultrafast internet access of up to 50Mb to just over half of all homes. Combined with a high speed ADSL service and mobile broadband products, Virgin Media is able to offer broadband internet access to virtually the entire country.
Virgin Media has the UK's most advanced TV on demand service and is the only TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer. It is the second largest provider of pay TV, was the first to launch a high definition TV service and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+ personal video recorder.
The company operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world's first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.
Virgin Media owns two content businesses -- Virgin Media Television (VMtv) and sit-up. VMtv owns eight entertainment channels, including Virgin1, Living, Bravo and Challenge -- and is a 50 per cent joint partner with the BBC in UKTV which consists of ten channels including Dave, G.O.L.D., Watch and Alibi. sit-up runs retail TV channels bid tv, price-drop tv and speed auction tv.
With operations based entirely in the UK, Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (VMED).
For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.