Virgin Media Brings Cable To 450,000 London Premises And FTTP To Barnet

Virgin Media’s £3 billion Project Lightning network expansion will have connected 450,000 new premises in London by the end of 2018.

The company has connected 100,000 homes and businesses since work began in 2014 and plans to connect another 100,000 in 2017. The remaining 250,000 will be added before the conclusion of the following year.

The figure includes 6,000 properties in the City of Westminster and 40,000 in Barnet which will be connected directly using fibre to the premise (FTTP) technology. Virgin Media has pledged at last a quarter of the four million additional connections it plans to make will be FTTP.

Virgin Media London expansion

Other areas covered include Greenford, Southall, Hammersmith & Fulham, Twickenham, St John’s Wood, Bexley and Croydon, while Virgin Media will also build public Wi-Fi networks in Islington and Croydon.

It is expected Project Lightning will expand Virgin’s footprint from 12.9 million premises to 17 million by 2019, with half a million added this year alone.

“London is one of the greatest capital cities in the world, so it deserves connectivity that meets its standing on the global stage,” declared Virgin Media CEO Tom Mockridge.

“From Lothian to London, Virgin Media and its parent company Liberty Global are committed to delivering the best broadband infrastructure for the UK.”

“I am delighted that Virgin Media is undertaking work to roll-out superfast fibre broadband to 6,000 additional premises in Westminster,” added Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster City Council.

“This investment, and that by other broadband providers, is vital to making sure Westminster remains a City for All and an unrivalled place to live, work and invest in. Our ambition as a council is to see every business and resident in the borough connected to superfast and reliable fibre broadband, and this is a hugely promising step towards achieving that goal.”

Earlier this week, Virgin revealed plans to connected thousands of firms in business parks across the UK, starting with two sites in Andover, Hampshire.

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