Virgin Doubling Broadband Speed

Virgin Media will twice the speed of its broadband service for more than 4 million of its customers, the firm has said.

The upgrade, that starts in February, will moreover see the service's tip speed enlarge from 100Mbps to 120Mbps.

The full rollout is approaching to be total by mid-2013 at a cost to the firm of 110m.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, mentioned the investment would be a "great boost" to the UK.

"I acquire this statement from Virgin Media," Mr Cameron mentioned in a statement.

"It will supply a great speed up is to manage to buy and change the way many households, consumers and businesses use the internet.

"Rolling out superfast broadband opposite the nation is a vicious segment of our outline to ascent the UK's infrastructure and erect a new and smarter economy."

The supervision has set targets to improve the UK's broadband speeds extremely in the next 3 years.

Virgin Media's arch senior manager Neil Berkett said: "The internet has turn an entire segment of our social, work and family lives, so you regard our customers are going to admire this.

"As people are increasingly carrying out more online, and getting related to the internet with lots of not similar devices, having a fast, arguable broadband service should not be a luxury.

"We wish to ensure that consumers have access to the most appropriate worth broadband service and that means a superfast connection."

BT voiced it was investing 2.5bn to make twine broadband existing to two-thirds of UK premises by the finish of 2015.

It has given invested a serve 300m to bring that aim deliver to the finish of 2014.

It betrothed poignant improvements to most homes, whilst even faster broadband - around 300Mbps - will turn existing in a paltry number of "superfast" areas.

In reply to Virgin Media's plans, BT said: "It is no astonishment to see that Virgin are subsequent to our lead by doubling speeds.

"We voiced you would do this for our twine products final autumn and so they are perplexing to grasp up with us."

BT's fastest existing speed to the majority of its customers is now 40Mbps.

Virgin Media's ascent will meant customers now sealed up for 10Mbps will be increased to 20Mbps, whilst users on 20Mbps and 30Mbps packages will both be upped to 60Mbps.

Those on 50Mbps will be increased to 100Mbps. Customers already on the tip 100Mbps price tag will be lifted to 120Mbps - the fastest speed Virgin Media is now able to provide.

The firm mentioned bandwidth use boundary will moreover be doubled to accustom the increased speed.

Most customers will not observe the upgrades receiving place, nor will any have to pay is to changes to take place, a orator said.

However, a few users with aged modems and other similar hardware will take new present apparatus giveaway of charge.

Fernando Elizalde, a leading researcher from Gartner who specialises in consumer broadband, mentioned he believed Virgin Media's investment in expanding its broadband ability was sound.

"In the final year and a half, multi-part connectors in the home and online video have held up so ample that it justifies having this high amount of bandwidth," he told the BBC.

"But there is still the subject about farming areas. Virgin still casing often city areas - they do not attain as many people in farming areas as BT and other telecoms providers."

According to Ookla, a firm that uses monitors broadband speed tests opposite the world, the UK ranks around 35th globally when ranked by broadband consumer download speed - an median of 11.65Mbps.

Virgin Media say that when the rollout is complete, that median could way up to around 16.46Mbps.

Based on Ookla's research, that gathers information from millions of speed tests, the enlarge would order UK the 19th-fastest globally when compared to today's standards.

The BBC's media match Torin Douglas mentioned the service alleviation will advance at an well-timed time as more bandwidth-heavy services similar to Lovefilm and Netflix, that launched this week in the UK, start to start attracting incomparable numbers.

"It means their subscribers can obtain their television, cinema and songs even more rapidly than they could before, that is clearly great news," he said.

"But Virgin still hasn't managed to remonstrate the majority of consumers that their network is improved than broadband that comes down the write line.

"Until they do, they won't be able to settle a actual aggressive advantage."

Andrew Ferguson, of eccentric broadband examination site thinkbroadband.com added: "The headlines is great for UK broadband as a whole and should prominence that the UK is not the internet backwater infrequently it is portrayed as.

"It means that around a entertain of Virgin Media customers will be discussion the simple speed necessity of 30 Meg that is an EU aim for 2020, many years ahead of time."