Virgin Media O2 is offering small businesses a free broadband speed boost to aid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a difficult year for many companies, Virgin Media and O2 received a significant regulatory win in May when the Competition and Markets Authority approved the £31 billion merger between the two telecoms firms.
Now, Virgin Media O2 is extending support to smaller businesses by increasing upload speeds for customers on its Voom Fibre broadband plans.
During the pandemic many companies accelerated their digital transformation to maintain operations, supporting remote work, online collaboration and more digital customer interactions.
Research conducted during the pandemic showed more than two-thirds of SMEs experienced a drop in revenue, and nearly half adapted their business models and adopted new technologies to cope with the disruption.
Many of these changes are expected to remain in place as workplaces evolve. Indeed, three-quarters of SMEs believe the adaptations made during the pandemic will become permanent. As a result, upload capacity has become increasingly important for sharing files between colleagues, customers and external partners.
Jo Bertram, Managing Director of Business & Wholesale at Virgin Media O2, commented:
“We’re supercharging business broadband with a completely free upgrade that will help SMEs bounce back from the pandemic. After a very challenging year, connectivity has been core to survival for many small businesses, with most uploading and downloading more than ever before.”
“As part of our mission to upgrade the UK we want to help get our nation’s entrepreneurs back on their feet, starting with a free digital boost.”
Voom Fibre packages currently start at 350 Mbps download, with the top-tier Voom 500 offering 500 Mbps download. Following this update, upload speeds will begin at 20 Mbps and increase up to 50 Mbps on the Voom 500 plan.
Virgin Media is also leveraging its merger with O2 to offer an optional 4G backup service for its packages. If the fixed broadband connection is interrupted, the router can automatically switch to unlimited 4G until the issue is resolved. Hybrid backup solutions like this have gained popularity in the last year, with other providers rolling out similar services.
(Photo by Mike Kiev on Unsplash)
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