Virgin Media has just completed the process of upgrading its ultrafast broadband network to cover 1.5 million more homes in Bristol, Northampton, Wigan, Sunderland, Wolverhampton, York and Bournemouth.
The gigabit broadband upgrade in these areas will deliver 1Gbps download speeds to the Virgin Media broadband users.
Virgin Media DOCSIS3.1 upgrade
According to Virgin Media, 8 million UK homes can now access its Gig1 broadband service which offers an average download speed of 1130Mbps and an average upload speed of 52Mbps.
Over the last few years, Virgin Media has been upgrading its cable network from DOCSIS 3.0 to DOCSIS3.1 technology to offer ultrafast and gigabit speeds (500Mbps – 1Gbps+) to homes in major UK cities and towns.
The network upgrade has been activated in many cities like Leeds, London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, South Wales, Reading, Birmingham, Coventry, Bradford, Southampton, Glasgow and North Ireland.
The DOCSIS3.1 upgrade is set benefit all the Virgin Media customers (15 million) by the end of 2021.
Virgin Media plans to upgrade its network to FTTP by the end of 2028
Virgin Media is the third biggest broadband provider after BT and Sky with a customer base of over 14.3 million. Its cable network is found to reach 75% of the UK population.
The DOCSIS3.1 cable network, though it is capable of 1Gbps download speeds, does not provide faster upload speeds, when compared to full fibre broadband (FTTP).
However, Virgin Media has also revealed its plans to gradually upgrade its network to FTTP and to reach all of its cable areas by 2028,
Virgin Media ultrafast and Gig1 broadband services
Virgin Media’s fastest, widely available broadband plan is M600 (630Mbps average download speed) which is currently available to Virgin TV customers who sign up for its quad-play Ultimate Volt bundle.
Virgin Media Gig1 broadband comes with two options – broadband & phone and broadband only. The new, advanced Virgin Media Hub 4 WiFi router is included, Monthly prices start from £62 on a 18 month contract.