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Cameron’s comments didn’t force Virgin’s hand on 100Mb broadband service launch

Virgin Media has officially announced the launch of its superfast broadband service today (Wednesday 27 October). This follows 48 hours of speculation after David Cameron prematurely announced the service earlier this week.

Speaking to the CBI on Monday, Mr Cameron said: “Virgin Media is rolling out a new superfast broadband service this week.”

However the provider had refused to comment or make an announcement themselves until today.  A spokesman for Virgin denied it had been forced to bring the announcement forward, stating that Mr Cameron’s speech had been made in consultation with the broadband provider.

The spokesman said: “This was always the plan, today is our results day and it was always our intention to announce it with the results.”

Although Virgin Media customers can now register for the 100Mb service it will not be on sale until December. Residents in London, the South East and Yorkshire, will be first to receive the service with Virgin aiming to complete the roll-out by the middle of next year.

Neil Berkett, chief executive officer at Virgin Media, said the service demonstrated Virgin’s clear network advantage over rival broadband providers and would propel the UK up the global broadband league table.  Describing the launch as “a significant milestone in the UK’s broadband evolution”, Mr Berkett said he was excited about the innovations consumers could expect from Virgin over the next decade.

He said: “From establishing the UK’s first ever broadband service in 2000 to the launch of 100Mb in 2010, in the space of just ten years, Virgin Media has led the greatest developments in digital Britain. The world of possibilities that broadband will enable is set to explode.”

Reacting to the official announcement, David Cameron said: “We want to see super-fast broadband brought to people’s homes and businesses right across the country and this exciting news takes us a step closer towards reaching that goal.”

According to Virgin, the 100Mb service will be 20 times quicker than standard broadband, allowing users to download an entire music album in as little as 5 seconds; a TV show in around 30 seconds, a high quality movie in 1½ minutes and a high definition movie in around 7 minutes.

Following trials of 100Mb and 200Mb speeds, Virgin said it found internet usage increased exponentially, providing users with a “hassle-free and enjoyable way to access entertainment and everyday services.”

Mr Berkett added: “We have already seen a massive uptake in the number of customers watching video rich services and bandwidth hungry high definition programmes and clips. We are now in a world where people want the best connectivity with whatever screen they are using and those service providers that aren’t able to deliver this will simply be left behind.”

As well as providing 100Mb download speeds, the service will also deliver 10Mb upload speeds.

Launching at £45 per month as a standalone package, or £35 with an £11.99 per month phone line, the 100Mb service will come with a new self-branded combined cable modem and 802.11n router.