Need for speed
Virgin Media has rolled out a new 30Mb fibre broadband service to replace its existing 20Mb offering from today.
Virgin said the move is a response to the huge take-up of smartphones and growing interest in tablets, coupled with the increased demand on broadband bandwidth from consumers watching TV shows online.
While the new XL service will offer 50 percent more bandwidth compared to the previous service it will cost £18.50 a month, down from the previous £20 when taken with a Virgin Media home phone.
In a dig at long-time rivals BT, Virgin said: "Unlike other fibre optic broadband services based on VDSL technology, such as BT Infinity, Virgin Media customers can expect to receive speeds close to the stated headline 30Mb speed, and aren't subject to the ‘speed lottery' that plagues broadband delivered over telephone wires."
The company said its 30Mb service is expected to deliver ‘faster average speeds than BT Infinity' with unlimited downloads, which it said also costs 'significantly less' than BT's Infinity offerings.
Here is a table from Virgin detailing the costs of its own and its rival's services.
|
Virgin Media XL 30Mb |
BT Infinity Option 1 |
BT Infinity Option 2 |
Price including landline |
£18.50+£12.24 = £30.74 |
£20+£13.60 = £33.60 |
£25.60+£13.60 = £39.20 |
Price difference |
- |
£2.86 |
£8.46 |
Minimum contract |
12m |
18m |
18m |
Service cost over 12m |
£368.88 |
£403.20 |
£470.40 |
Service cost over 18m |
£553.32 |
£604.80 |
£705.60 |
Download speeds |
Up to 30Mb |
Up to 40Mb |
Up to 40Mb |
Upload speeds |
Up to 3Mb2 |
Up to 2Mb |
Up to 10Mb |
Data allowance |
Unlimited |
40GB |
Unlimited |
Expected download speeds |
Over 90% of stated |
Dependent on location |
Dependent on location |
Virgin's current XL broadband customers can upgrade to the new 30Mb service for a one-off fee of £30, which Virgin said covers activation and a shiny new ‘SuperHub' router to replace their old one. The SuperHub combined DOCSIS 3.0 modem and router is capable of Gigabit wired connectivity as well as dual-band ‘N' Wi-Fi.
"As consumers continually demand more and more from their broadband, the unique power of our next-generation network means that we're able to turn up the dial to meet their needs," said Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media.
"With so many devices connecting to the internet at home these days, our new 30Mb service will give Virgin Media families that extra boost needed to make everything run smoothly, with speeds that don't slow down depending on where you live," he added.
Virgin Media's fibre optic broadband product range will now include 10Mb, 30Mb, 50Mb and 100Mb packages, used by around 4 million homes.