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Virgin Media Flips Switch on 1Gbps Broadband in South Wales

Virgin-Media

Virgin Media has now rolled out its network upgrade to Cardiff and South Wales, making gigabit broadband available to an additional “hundreds of thousands” of premises.

Most of Virgin Media’s cable broadband network accommodates top download speeds of 516Mbps or 636Mbps with its Ultimate Oomph broadband and TV packages. 

However, since last year the ISP has been rolling out an upgrade that boosts its maximum download speeds to 1104Mbps.

Before this week, the upgrade had reached 6.8 million households, most recently three million premises in London and Northern Ireland.

The DOCSIS 3.1 upgrade has now gone live in Virgin’s network in Cardiff and the surrounding areas of Adamstown, Ely, Grangetown, Lisvane, Pentwyn, Rumney, Saint Mellons, Thornhill and Whitchurch.

Other areas across South Wales, including Barry, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taf, have also been upgraded.

The latest development takes the number of premises reached by Virgin’s gigabit broadband to more than seven million. The ISP hopes to reach its entire footprint of 15 million premises by the end of 2021. This progress, combined with full-fibre builds, will take the UK's gigabit broadband coverage to 60%

Connected households can access the top speeds through Virgin's Gig1Fibre package, which costs £62 a month on an 18-month contract with a guaranteed price freeze for at least 24 months. Gigabit broadband can also be paired with Virgin’s pay-TV packages, for an additional charge. Subscribers will be sent a new HUB 4.0 router to connect.

Jeff Dodds, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Media, said: “At a time when our services play a vital role in supporting people’s lives and powering the economy, Virgin Media is continuing to invest and as a result our gigabit footprint is growing like gangbusters.

“With our latest switch-on in Wales today, all four UK countries and capital cities can now benefit from our next-generation connectivity and the rest of our network will follow suit next year.

“Whether people are working from home, learning online, video calling friends and family, or binging on a box set in 4K, with Gig1, they’ll be able to do it all at the same time without worry or delay.”

One caveat: the DOCSIS 3.1 upgrade only applies to downstream speeds. Upload speeds on the Gig1Fibre package remain just 52Mbps.

Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith has worked as a journalist and copywriter for most of the last decade, covering technology, energy, and consumer rights, in the US and UK.

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