Virgin Media announces speed boost

Virgin Media is to give customers on its 4Mbps downstream broadband service a free upgrade to 10Mbps starting next month.

The upgrade will roll out on a region-by-region basis and is designed to position the mid-tier offering ahead of "up to 8Mbps" services offered by ADSL providers.

"Virgin Media's cable network gives us a natural superiority over other broadband services and we're delighted to reward our customers with this free upgrade," said acting CEO Neil Berkett, who will be speaking at tomorrow's Superfast Broadband symposium. "We've barely scratched the surface of what's possible with our cable network, and we will continue to look for new ways to satisfy the growing demand for even faster broadband in the UK. We're proud to be leading the country's superfast broadband revolution."

Virgin also confirmed that a new 50Mbps top-tier service will be made available across its network by the end of 2008 following successful trials in Ashford, Folkestone and Dover.