New minimum 10Mbps speed from Virgin
March 19, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Some 2.6 million households who subscribe to the minimum Virgin Media broadband tariff are going to be in for a treat in May, as the company has just announced that it is going to provide them with a free upgrade.
Now those customers on the smallest 2Mbps speed connection will have their speed increased to 10Mbps completely free of charge as part of Virgin’s upgrading programme.
This is not the first time Virgin has upgraded its customers free of charge. Last year it provided its 4Mbps customers with an increase to 10Mbps, and this represents the next stage of the programme. By receiving speeds of up to 10Mbps, more people on the same connection will be able to play online games and watch online video at the same time.
Virgin recently released a 50Mbps service, but this is only available to people where the fibre optic network is in place. However, this latest upgrade to 10Mbps will be available for everyone. After the upgrade, there will be three packages for customers to choose from: the 10Mbps, 20Mbps and 50Mbps. Neil Berkett, the chief executive of Virgin, said that it is now offering the “highest quality broadband service in the UK”.
Existing customers on 10Mpbs broadband may feel a bit hard done by as they will continue to pay £14 a month. However, their service includes a phone line as well, and on top of that people who get the upgrade will not be entitled to the PCguard protection package.
