Virgin Media will build next generation Mobile Backhaul Network for the leading mobile broadband providers Three (3UK) and T-Mobile (Everything Everywhere).
Under the £100 million deal reached between Virgin Media Business and MBNL (Mobile Broadband Network Ltd, the joint venture between Everything Everywhere and Three), the cable giant will build 14 regional aggregation networks across the U.K in the next eight years.
Virgin Media will use Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) technology that can offer offer speeds of up to 1Gbps to the mobile backhaul that will enable these operators to offer improved service to their customers.
The high capacity mobile backhaul network will help the mobile broadband providers to deal with the escalating data demands of today and tomorrow, according to Neil Berkett, the CEO of Virgin Media.
“People no longer expect to simply make calls from their mobile phone. Being connected all the time to social networks, the internet and their favourite apps is very much a basic expectation which operators need to deliver on.” he said.
Many recent surveys show that smarphones, ipad and dongle based devices like netbooks continue to increase mobile broadband traffic, with operators are not just able to cope with the demand using their under-capacity 3G networks.
However, Graham Payne, managing director of MBNL, commented:
“Mobile data and the increase in smartphone usage is a big growth opportunity for us. Connecting our users to the online world, from any location and from any device, is at the heart of what we do.”