Virgin’s 100Mbps Broadband Reaches 20m Brits

One third of Brits now have access to the fastest Internet speeds available on Virgin Media’s network, the company announced today.

Less than a year after launching its ultrafast fibre optic broadband network, more than 20 million people can now achieve speeds of up to 100Mbps, said Virgin in a statement.

On track for 2012 goal

“From today, homes in Harborne in Birmingham, Lincoln, Seven Kings in Greater London, and Solihull will also be able to sign up to ultrafast broadband speeds of 100Mb,”  said the company in a statement. “Virgin Media remains on track to complete the expansion across its entire network.”

The company has committed to offering 100Mbps to half of the UK by the middle of 2012.

According to Virgin’s third quarter results, released on 27 October, demand for faster broadband is accelerating at record rates, with 54 percent of new customers requesting speeds of 30Mbps or higher.

One million of Virgin Media’s customers (26 percent of its broadband base) are on speeds of 20Mbps or higher, and over half a million customers now enjoy superfast speeds of 30Mbps or above.

“Providing speeds of 100Mb to a third of the UK today, and to a further four million homes by the middle of next year, can give families access to the best in digital entertainment and online services in an instant as well as provide the foundation for business growth and start-up Britain,” said Virgin Media’s executive director of broadband, Jon James in a statement.

“We’ve successfully proven we can achieve speeds of 1.5Gb, some of the fastest broadband in the world, so we’re ready for when consumers want more in the future as we expect demand will continue to accelerate.”