Virgin Media trumps rivals with speed boost for UK businesses

4 November 2015 – Virgin Media Business, the division of Virgin Media that provides products and services to UK businesses, today announces a new standard in ultrafast connectivity for businesses, with the launch of broadband speeds up to 300Mbps early next year.

The new 300Mbps product, launching in Q1 2016, will deliver businesses the fastest widely available broadband speeds in the UK, almost four times faster than competitors' offers. The current top speed for Virgin Media business customers is 152Mbps.

Peter Kelly, Managing Director of Virgin Media Business, will announce the speed upgrade when he speaks at today’s Great Telco Debate, an annual event in London attended by industry analysts and other stakeholders from the telecoms sector.

Peter said: “Every day businesses tell us that faster broadband speeds increase productivity and help deliver better services for customers. At Virgin Media Business we’re focused on enabling businesses to reach their potential by delivering better services and greater capacity. Our 300Mbps service will set a new benchmark for business broadband in the UK.”

Investment in UK infrastructure

Virgin Media is investing £3 billion in its infrastructure to bring the fastest broadband to nearly 17 million UK homes and businesses. As the network is built out, more businesses will be able to utilise the new speeds. Virgin Media’s network currently reaches approximately 44 percent of UK premises – this will increase to 65 per cent once the £3 billion investment has been fully rolled out.

Research on how digital supports businesses

Last month, Virgin Media Business launched a report, 'The UK's £92 billion Digital Opportunity', which revealed digital technologies could boost the UK economy by 2.5% of GDP (or £92 billion).  A report last month from the Federation of Small Business (FSB) also stated that almost all small business owners (99 per cent) rate the internet as being highly important to their business with half of all small businesses (51 per cent) already offering services online, and an additional 15 per cent planning to do so in the near future.

Media Enquiries

Sarndra Wenden: 03333 430 153

James Thompson: 07817 956 974

press@virginmedia.co.uk

About Virgin Media Business

Virgin Media Business is the arm of Virgin Media that provides products and services to UK businesses and the public sector.  We have more than 36,000 business customers, most of them small and medium enterprises.  We also partner with the public sector; with local councils and thousands of schools to improve connectivity in communities and support learning; and with the emergency services to enable them to efficiently perform their life-saving skills.

We’re part of the Virgin Media group, the UK’s first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services. Virgin Media is a part of Liberty Global plc, the world’s largest international cable company. Together Virgin Media and Liberty Global serve 27 million customers across 14 countries, helping connect people to the digital world and enabling them to discover and experience its endless possibilities.