Virgin brings gigabit broadband to 1 million homes
Over a million homes across the West Midlands are set to benefit from the region’s fastest gigabit home broadband service with speeds up to 20 times quicker than the current regional average.
Virgin Media will switch on its next-generation Gig1 Fibre Broadband services in early March in Birmingham and Coventry – the first cities to benefit from the service this year – as well as surrounding areas across the West Midlands.
This forms part of Virgin Media’s plan to roll out gigabit speeds to more than 15 million homes across its network by the end of 2021 – delivering half of the Government’s broadband ambition four years early.
To mark the upcoming launch of the next-generation service in the West Midlands, Oliver Dowden CBE, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Andy Street CBE, Mayor of the West Midlands, visited Virgin Media’s National Apprenticeship Centre at its Eagle Court office in Birmingham.
The centre is home to more than 1000 Virgin Media employees and is where hundreds of apprentices are trained in a variety of roles ranging from field operations to network engineering.
Jeff Dodds, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Media, said: “Virgin Media is delivering on its promises, putting its money where its mouth is and bringing next-generation broadband to its entire network. Switching on gigabit speeds for more than a million homes in the West Midlands, the UK’s largest gigabit rollout to date, will be a leap forward for the region and a big step for the Government’s gigabit broadband ambition.
“From gaming to streaming, Gig1’s hyperfast speeds will mean that households can do everything they want to do online, at the same time and without delay, with millions of more homes set to benefit this year as we bring this next-generation connectivity to more cities around the UK.”
Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, added:
“Today’s announcement means we’re a million homes closer in delivering our plans to deliver gigabit broadband to everyone in the UK. We’re working closely with companies like Virgin Media and investing £5 billion to ensure the hardest to reach areas aren’t left behind – so that every part of the country can enjoy the benefits of a world class internet connection.”
Customers can find out more about Virgin’s Gig1 Fibre Broadband at www.virginmedia.com/gig1
