Virgin Media plans to roll out 100Mbps cable broadband services to UK homes by the end of the year, offering data-speeds 24-times faster than the average from rivals.
Details of the plan are still sketchy, with Virgin refusing to reveal any details regarding the rollout schedule or which areas would be upgraded first.
Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett said the new service would give customers “the ultimate broadband experience,” adding that there is “nothing we can’t do with our fiber optic cable network.”
As proof, the firm announced plans to extend a
200MBps pilot started in Kent in May, to cover Coventry. Virgin hopes to sign up “hundreds of customers” to this stage of the trial.
The operator currently has 4.1 million broadband customers, and offers speeds of up to 50Mbps.
Rival BT, which has around 5 million broadband subscribers, plans to roll out 100Mbps FTTH to up to 10 million UK homes by 2012.
The planned network rollout comes at a time when Virgin Media is reducing its net loss and growing revenues.
Recent figures show net loss was down to £94 million (€104.8 million) in Q409, compared with £244 million in Q408. Revenue rose 3% to £980 million, and free cash flow increased 55.1% to £86 million year-on-year.
Cable net adds increased 93% to 28,600, while overall broadband net adds increased 11% to 63,600. Cable ARPU grew 5.8% to £44.81.