Virgin Media O2 achieves 100% gigabit capability

The operator completed its rollout after switching on gigabit speeds to a final 1.1 million homes for the first time. The commitment to delivering speeds of 1.13 Gbps across the entire Virgin network by the end of 2021 was carried out through the company’s Project Lightning programme, meeting the UK government’s target to offer such connectivity to 85% of the UK population by 2025, four years ahead of schedule.

In its mission to upgrade the UK, Virgin Media O2 has committed to invest at least £10 billion over the next five years in the UK and added that it would make use of cutting-edge full-fibre technology and the company says that it will continue to maintain and develop its existing cable network during the upgrade period. This includes utilising the network’s multigigabit capability to deliver speeds above 2 Gbps in future, a target hat the firm says will be achieved through the combination of DOCISIS 3.1 cable and FTTP technology over the coming years.

“Just two years ago we set out to spearhead the UK’s gigabit revolution and today we’ve delivered,” remarked Virgin Media O2 chief executive officer Lutz Schüler. “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. 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.”

The news that Virgin has completed full gigabit capability has already been well received within the analyst community. Uswitch.com broadband expert Ernest Doku noted that Virgin Media O2 deserved “a feather in its cap” for making the move and that it should acta as an impetus for rivals, in particular BT’s Openreach, to accelerate their own gigabit rollout plans.

“Bringing speeds of up to 1.130 Gbps to its 15.5 million customers is a massive achievement, but there’s still a long way to go for the rest of the country to hit the government’s 2025 broadband target,” he remarked. “Openreach has a long way to go to catch up, recently hitting six million premises able to receive gigabit speeds nationwide – but they are on track to upgrade 25 million homes by the end of 2026. Virgin Media O2 is certainly keeping the pressure on its rivals with these latest developments.” Rapid TV News