Virgin increases 2Mb base to 10Mb

Virgin Media have announced what is apparently the largest scale upgrade of broadband customers in the UK by moving millions of 2Mb customers to a 10Mb speed, which is enabled by their new next generation platform that has gone in place for their 50Mb service. According to The Guardian 2.6m customers will be upgraded.

The service is £14 per month when taken with a Virgin phone line, of which the company says:

Virgin Media's 10Mb service will provide customers with a service that could typically cost a total of over £303 per month from competitive ADSL providers, yet offers more than double the throughput4 of comparable 'up to 8Mb' services setting a new standard for entry-level broadband in the UK.

The migration is expected to start in May this year, in parallel to the company's continued rollout of the 50Mb service.

Company chief executive Neil Berkett says:

"Our entry-level broadband product is now twice the speed of comparable services and, with our new 10-20-50 range, we clearly offer the highest quality broadband service in the UK.

The migration of millions of 2Mb customers to 10Mb is only possible because of the power of our next generation network and is just one example of how we are creating exciting propositions for consumers which provide transformational experiences and go way beyond their expectations.

Coupled with our recently launched 50Mb service, we are proactively developing the UK's broadband market, driving consumer expectations and the demand for high speed broadband services."

Expect plenty of reaction from the media, regulators, competitors and consumers alike. The press release can be found here.