Virgin Media To Roll-Out 100Mb Broadband

Virgin Media has thrown down the gauntlet to its broadband rivals,
vowing to roll out a 100Mb service across the UK by the end of 2011.


It said this would give customers the fastest available commercial product in the UK - at more than 20 times the average speed.

The group claimed the service will allow web surfers to download a
music album in as little as five seconds, an hour-long TV show in 31
seconds and an high definition movie in less than eight minutes.

Virgin is also expanding its 200Mb pilot as part of the push to become a "broadband nation".

The news came as the group far exceeded its financial forecasts in the fourth quarter, adding thousands of new cable users and extracting more money from each subscriber.

It said it connected 28,600 households on a net basis - those
joining the group, less those leaving - in the final three months of
2009

The average amount cable customers were paying in the quarter rose by 5.8%, as underlying earnings leapt 15.3% to £366m.

The sum is also likely to rise higher in the coming months, as
Virgin introduces a set of price rises and the new superfast broadband
speed offering.

The new 100Mb service will help the UK catch up with other markets
that are pushing ahead with broadband, such as Japan and Korea, which
are rolling out 1Gb broadband.

Neil Berkett, chief executive of Virgin Media, said: "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."

Virgin Media is now listed in New York and London after making a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange in January.

Shares in London were still up by over 5% in late afternoon trading following its results

Whoopee do. I shall celebrate by waving a bit of glass in the hope they will bother to roll out to where I live. And I'm more likley to see a flying pig with a bit of copper wire in its mouth saying ooops missus range into your phone line there.