Virgin Media gigabit broadband expands to more than 1 million UK homes

Virgin Media is greatly expanding its UK gigabit broadband offering by switching on the service in the West Midlands.

That means over one million homes in Birmingham, Coventry and the surrounding areas will be able to get speeds of 1Gbps and above from early March. The average peak-time download speed tested on the service so far is 1,104Mbps.

Eligible customers who take Virgin Media's Gig1 broadband will receive the brand's latest Hub 4 router. Prices for the new service start at £62 per month for broadband only.

The newly connected region joins Greater Manchester, Reading and Southampton in being Gig1 Fibre Broadband-ready. Other UK cities will be announced later this year.

"Virgin Media is delivering on its promises, putting its money where its mouth is and bringing next-generation broadband to its entire network," said the company's COO, Jeff Dodds.

"Switching on gigabit speeds for more than a million homes in the West Midlands, the UK’s largest gigabit rollout to date, will be a leap forward for the region and a big step for the government’s gigabit broadband ambition."

The UK government's newly appointed digital secretary, Oliver Dowden, applauded the move as a step in the right direction in order to improve the country's internet infrastructure: "Today’s announcement means we’re a million homes closer in delivering our plans to deliver gigabit broadband to everyone in the UK," he said.

"We’re working closely with companies like Virgin Media and investing £5 billion to ensure the hardest to reach areas aren’t left behind - so that every part of the country can enjoy the benefits of a world class internet connection."

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