Virgin Media O2 has announced that it has completed the upgrade of its national network to “gigabit speeds”.

The company claims that it has now delivered nearly two-thirds of the government’s broadband ambition, four years ahead of the target date.

Gigabit broadband is a connection that can deliver speeds of one gigabit per second (Gbps), equivalent to 1000 megabits per second (Mbps).

The upgrade, which began just over two years ago, means that all 15.5 million homes in its network can now access gigabit speed broadband.

Virgin Media O2 said that its broadband service offers average download speeds of 1,130 Mbps, which it described as “22 times faster than the national average”.

The company suggested that gigabit broadband could pave the way for new technologies like the metaverse, cloud gaming, and virtual reality experiences.

“Our investment to bring gigabit broadband to every home on our network has catapulted the UK’s digital infrastructure forward by a decade and forced others to up their game,” said Lutz Schüler, chief executive, Virgin Media O2. “As the country’s largest gigabit provider by far, we’re the driving force behind widespread gigabit availability four years ahead of the Government’s target.

“Having reached this major milestone in just two years, we’re doubling down on our mission to upgrade the UK by continuing to innovate and invest in our network to support the technologies of tomorrow – there’s no slowing down at Virgin Media O2.”

Digital secretary Nadine Dorries said that getting high speed broadband into everyone's homes is a top priority.

“We must ensure that rural areas are not left behind, which is why alongside industry’s roll out we’re investing up to £5 billion to make top-of-the-range speeds available in hard-to-reach communities,” she added.

The telecoms company also announced that it plans to invest at least £10 billion in the UK over the next five years.

Share Story: