Virgin Media Upgrades Customers To 10Mb Broadband

Following increases in the capacity of its fibre optic broadband network, Virgin Media has announced that from this May it is upgrading millions of its 2Mbps broadband customers to a faster 10Mbps service.

Broadband speeds within the UK have been a popular topic of discussion over the past couple of months. With the UK currently averaging around 2Mbps, experts within the broadband industry are keen to move Britain’s broadband sector forward, with Virgin Media looking to take the lead.

Talking about the upgrade, the Chief Executive of Virgin Media, Neil Berkett said: “The migration of millions of 2Mb broadband customers to 10Mb is only possible because of the power of our next generation fibre optic broadband network and is just one example of how we are creating exciting propositions for consumers.”

Berkett also talked about how Virgin’s new 10Mb broadband package was twice as fast as the entry level speeds offered by other leading broadband providers.

When compared to other countries, the UK’s average broadband speed of 2Mbps looks pretty grim. Japan for example has an average speed of over 60Mbps, whilst Sweden has an average speed of around 18Mbps.

In order to keep up with other more advanced countries, UK broadband providers need to start increasing their minimum broadband speeds and that is exactly what Virgin Media are doing.

With Virgin Media upping the stakes and with increasing pressure from the government and regulators, it should not be too long before other providers start to do the same.