Virgin Media deploy 2Gbps broadband to 18 UK locations on coax network
Broadband ISP Virgin Media has today finally confirmed that they’ve “started” the non-trial roll out of their top 2Gbps download speed package for customers covered by their older Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC / DOCSIS 3.1) network, which is already said to be available across 18 UK locations.
Just to recap. Until recently anybody who wanted 2Gbps speeds (including symmetric) on Virgin Media needed to be covered by their live XGS-PON based FTTP network (mostly via nexfibre). A total of c.9 million Virgin Media and nexfibre premises (footprint) are now covered by full fibre lines – using both XGS-PON and RFOG technology (c.5m on XGS).
However, several million of Virgin’s existing lines are still being delivered over HFC technology, which makes any speed boost on that side particularly important. ISPreview previously reported in July 2026 that Virgin Media had begun to deploy 2Gbps speeds across this legacy network, although until now the operator had continued to insist that this was still part of a trial, even when it recently became increasingly clear that this was not the case.
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The good news today is that Virgin Media have finally announced the official rollout of their 2Gbps broadband services over its HFC/coax netrwork for the first time, with upgrades already complete in 18 locations and due to expand to the majority of its network in 2027.
Locations with 2Gbps capability (HFC)
Newcastle, Bournemouth, Lancaster, Peterborough, Ipswich, Bath, Southend-on-Sea, York, Blackburn, Cambridge, Harrogate, Chelmsford, Manchester, Oxford, Preston and Portsmouth.
NOTE: This list excludes some of the other locations where we’ve seen the new tier live on HFC, probably because the local roll-out isn’t yet complete.
Related upgrades to the company’s old cable network have so far already taken place for around 3 million UK homes, and with Virgin Media’s Gig2 services also available in full fibre areas, this means more than 10 million households can get access to the provider’s fastest broadband today (at least in terms of download performance).
Jeanie York, CTO of Virgin Media O2, said:
“This is an important milestone for our fixed network. Ultimately, people don’t care what kind of pipe is connecting them as long the service is fast, reliable and delivers what is expected. By making 2Gbps speeds available over cable for the first time, we’re extending multi-gigabit capability to more parts of the UK and showing the continued potential of our existing network infrastructure that still very much meets the increasing needs of consumers. As demand for data continues to grow, we’re investing across our network to deliver faster, more reliable connectivity.”
Gig2 services are available from £49.99 per month, increasing to £53.99 per month from April 2027 and £57.99 per month from April 2028.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Anyone know the upload speed?
I think it 200Mbps upload as VM does do 10/1 ratio. Maybe Mark Jackson can confirm this.
The ispreview article states NOTE: The 2Gbps package via HFC only offers 100Mbps upload speeds, as does the VMO2 press release https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-starts-rollout-of-2gbps-broadband-over-its-gigabit-cable-network-for-the-first-time/.
its 130mbs at the moment. I’ve been on it for about a month.
For years, Virgin media marketed their coax as fibre. Now the CTO says “Ultimately, people don’t care what kind of pipe is connecting them”.
She could have said “We kept lying to our customers, but now many of them realized it, so we pretend it didn’t matter anyway.”
It’s only from the last cab to you home that’s coax everything else is fibre. Its not a big deal and that far off.
Not always true in a lot/majority of cases. Often that cabinet is RF to a main cabinet down the road that has the optical kit and a lot of extra coax is in a pit chamber as excess on the way. Its not always fibre from that cab you connect to. That is often daisy chained from a “super node” cabinet, where the actual fibre gets it into VM’s network.
The coax is much higher bandwidth than telephone cable, even capable of 10gbps BUT its prone to moisture affecting it, a lot of coax been in the ground for couple of decades now, and lots of people suffer from power levels being incorrect, and SNR being too low which can seriously affect speeds or connection. Noise can easily get into the network back to the cabinet from other subscribers. The inherit latency of DocSIS can’t match full fibre and that is noticeable. Full fibre just feels snappier in comparison and game players will now as do anyone who streams their media from CCTV system.
That doesn’t mean HFC is bad. In areas that only had ADSL or VDSL, VM was a superior choice and delivered – unless you had area utilisation issues or Noise issues or Power level/SNR issues. The UK has moved on, and HFC simply cannot better full fibre (unless the ISP or full fibre network has issues itself or duff ONT etc)
Wezz, that would have been true for DOCSIS 4.0 but the existing HFC network has between 1 and 10 amplifiers cabinets between each customer and the fibre node.
Virgin Media based an entire marketing campaign around how their coaxial cables were superior, now are taking the position that “people don’t care what kind of pipe is connecting them as long the service is fast, reliable and delivers what is expected”.
It’s true! 95% of consumers couldn’t give a toss what the technology is as long as it works as advertised.
I switched from Virgin 2gig to EE 1.6gig. The EE 1.6gig line is far better than the 2gig virgin line i had. You are stuck with a incredibly bad Router with Virgin 2gig line, wifi 6 dual band. can’t even use your own Router on 2gig specifically. EEs wifi 7 tri band router is a night and day difference. The ping on the EE line is 3ms, on Virgin 2 gig it was 11-13ms on the speed test. The EE line has been more stable than the Virgin one so far.
I’m seeing a huge number of roadwork applications in the Bradford area for VM. The references all start ‘FIBRE-UP’ so it looks like we’ll soon be fibered up. I wonder how long it will take to actually go live after the works are done.
After the works are done: Not long. The works, however, take ages.
New install? Is it PIA area or underground? PIA is fast, and wouldn’t be too long at all tbh.
They are doing FibreUp work in London too around Ealing / Acton / Park Royal and up into Harlesdon. They’ve swept through the area doing cabinet installs and chambers. Now they are doing unblocking works. Not sure if we will see roadworks for the actual fibre install though.
Do people still believe FTTP will hit all coax areas?
Eventually. The fact that they’re rolling out 2Gps suggests that they expect HFC to be around for a few years yet.
This is an interim measure to help ward off competition until VM can migrate everyone onto XGS-PON and 2Gbps symmetrical (or higher). VM had, according to its 2025 accounts, 10.5m premises passed by HFC, so there is quite some way to go from the 3m upgraded so far.
VM says that the upgrade ‘requires no civil engineering’, so we can safely say it’s mostly done by headend/CMTS upgrades with possible optical node upgrades. A change will also be needed inside premises as there are some hub 3s and hub 4s out there, and any customer with either of these who subscribes to 2Gbps will need the hub 5 with its 2.5GbE WAN port.
My Virgin 2gig install was a huge thing, 3 men came out and started installing all the wiring without knocking on my door, It took a 3 man team like an hour. My EE 1.6gig install was far better, they were lovely and the 2 of them got it done within 30 minutes. Virgin contractors also stole some things from the side of my house.
@Ellis: You are referring to the installation for XGS-PON which needs fibre installed between cabinet and home, and an ONT installed too. For HFC, which is what the article is about, the most a homeowner might need is a hub 5 which is a straight swap for a hub 3 or a hub 4.
The EE installation was faster because every installation is different: I know of a case where Openreach fibre was taken from a CBT in a joint box literally feet away, and it didn’t take long for the tech to run the fibre up to first floor and install the ONT.
think if you pay £6 extra the 2GiG is upload and 2GiG download speed , i was just signing up yesterday and they offered me this
The £6 upload addon is only for the xgs network, this post is on about the older network.
I think that may mean you are in one of their pure fibre (XGS-PON) areas. It should tell you your connection type when you sign up.
You’re in a full fibre area. HFC areas can’t get symmetrical.
I had Virgin 2gig with the upload add on, it was £5 for me. You seriously do not need the matching upload speed, was a complete waste of £5 a month. My Virgin 2gig worked great up until several months before the 2 year contract ended. I was getting dropped connection for a few seconds almost every hour. I’ve since switched to EE 1.6gig fibre, The Router alone is worth not going with Virgin 2gig, The worst router i have ever witnessed wifi 6, dual band and you can’t use your own router on 2gig line. EE wifi 7 tri band Router is incredibly better. Not having wifi 7 or tri band on a 2gig line in 2026 is ridiculous. EE Ping is 3ms and Virgin 2gig was 11-13ms, on the speed test site. Virgin customer service was also terrible and EEs was great.
Recently cancelled my Virgin 2gig with the matching upload speed add on. I now have EE 1.6gig instead. The Virgin 2gig Router is pure garbage and i was getting disconnected for a few seconds every hour near the end of my Contract. Virgin Customer service is horrible, EE 1.6gig router is excellent and the customer service was also excellent. I told Virgin 30 days in advance i was cancelling, and when the day came to cancel, they denied that i gave them notice a month before. I will never buy anything Virgin Media related ever again. Also the PING on EE 1.6gig was 3ms and it was 11 – 13ms on Virgin 2gig.
Also you can’t use a third party Router on Virgin 2gig, you are stuck with their horrendous wifi 6 dual band Router. There’s no new Router that has even been announced yet.
@Ellis in a Virgin fibre area you are better off ordering from Giff Gaff. Same network, but cheaper with symmetric speeds by default. You get a proper ONT so can use your own router and at the moment they let you cancel at anytime, even on a 2 year contract.
I’m on there 1gb plan, and I get download speeds of 50Mbps using brand new devices that are 10 feet away from their hub 5. Ethernet connection is full speed, but that’s not what I use at home. Multiple engineer visits and no solution, just left out to dry. Bill is still full though unlike the WiFi speeds.