Virgin Media Business Brings Faster Broadband to London’s Tech City

Cable operator Virgin Media Business has jumped on the recent moans of poor broadband connectivity in central London, specifically the eastern Tech City area, by announcing that thousands of local firms will soon be able to benefit from a new managed “fibre” Internet access service, which can be installed into buildings with shared occupancy (office blocks etc.).

Apparently once Virgin’s “fibre” has been installed (the costs of this can be partially off-set by the Government’s Connection Voucher grants – worth up to £3,000) then each of the small businesses in the building will get their own dedicated connection.

The project is expected to be available to at least 2,000 businesses, with additional development in the coming months bringing it within the reach of a further 6,000. Generally speaking VMB tends to offer a variety of different packages, although it looks like local firms won’t get the best available speeds (Virgin’s domestic cable broadband network can offer up to 152Mbps).

VMB’s Offer to Small (SME) Tech City Businesses:

• Dedicated fibre connectivity
• Costs up to 50% lower than existing dedicated connections
• Synchronous speeds over six times faster, increasing from around 8Mb to at least 50Mb, both up and downstream
• Unlimited usage
• Enhanced, business-grade reliability
• 24-month contracts with flexibility after 12 months

Sadly this won’t do much for local homes that are still stuck on BTOpenreach’s slow ADSL based Exchange Only Lines (EOL)

Peter Kelly, MD of VirginMedia Business, said:

“Small businesses are the powerhouse of our economy yet poor connectivity exacerbates the challenges they face. We are transforming the prospects of thousands of companies by offering them faster, cheaper, more reliable broadband. These businesses will be able to work quicker, smarter and seize greater opportunities to grow with our better internet connections.”

Ed Vaizey, Digital Economy Minister, said:

“The Government’s Connection Vouchers have already provided thousands of businesses across the UK with a faster and more reliable internet connection. VirginMedia Business’s new offer to Tech City businesses is a brilliant example of the many innovative products available to SMEs and will play an important role in removing barriers to better connectivity.”

Apparently the project “will be available to new premises that house two or more businesses, with one to 249 employees“, although the operator says this will only be “until 31st March 2015“. Meanwhile VMB adds that they’re “working closely with landlords and local authorities to drastically cut the time it takes to deliver new connections caused by the multiple permissions needed for interruptions to parking, road access, footpaths and more“.