Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global, has announced a substantial set of free speed upgrades across its broadband packages. Current subscribers will receive these faster speeds at no extra cost.
Last year the provider was recognised by uSwitch with multiple awards, including best broadband innovation, best broadband provider, best WiFi service, and fastest home broadband—accolades that appear positioned to continue into 2014 thanks to the latest upgrades.
With rival BT Infinity offering top packages around 76 Mbps, Virgin’s new top speeds give it a clear competitive edge.
Under the changes, Virgin’s former entry-level 30 Mbps tier is being raised to 50 Mbps. The 60 Mbps tier jumps to 100 Mbps, and the previous 120 Mbps package is boosted to 152 Mbps—an increase that notably doubles BT’s advertised top speed.
These improvements were introduced shortly after discussion about Virgin’s partnership with mobile operator Three for backhaul, when analysts questioned whether some customers might prefer Three’s 4G network, which averages around 70 Mbps. The new fibre boosts reduce that concern by significantly widening the gap between Virgin’s home broadband and typical mobile performance.
The speed increases are delivered over Virgin Media’s hybrid fibre-coaxial network, which currently reaches about 12.5 million homes in the UK. Rollout has already begun, and existing customers will receive notification when their free upgrade is activated.
Pricing for new customers remains the same as for existing subscribers: £15.50 per month for the 50 Mbps package (previously 30 Mbps), £20.50 per month for 100 Mbps, and £28.50 per month for 152 Mbps. These figures exclude the optional £15.99 per month line rental fee; customers can also opt for broadband without line rental where available.
“From daily life to the bigger aspects of society, culture and economic growth, digital is making a significant, positive difference to people’s lives,” said Tom Mockridge, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Media. “We’re supercharging our incredible network to ensure that Virgin Media customers can make the most of the online world.”
Public reaction is mixed. In response to a tweet asking readers what they think about the industry-leading upgrades, one user commented that while faster speeds are welcome, the UK still has work to do compared with other countries and needs greater stability and improved traffic management.
Some long-standing concerns remain. Customers occasionally experience traffic management measures or “caps” that reduce speeds during peak periods to preserve overall network performance, and upload speeds on Virgin’s residential packages are often lower than some competitors’, making large file or video uploads slower.
Alongside speed improvements, Virgin Media has introduced a new ‘Web Safe’ parental control feature as part of broader online-safety efforts. The service lets account holders restrict access to age-inappropriate websites across all devices connected to the local network, helping families manage online content more effectively.
Overall, the free speed upgrades significantly strengthen Virgin Media’s broadband proposition, offering faster downloads for households and helping prepare the network for the increasing number of always-connected devices and bandwidth-hungry services that will continue to grow in the coming years.
What do you think about Virgin Media’s supercharged superfast broadband?