Virgin Media O2 Bring 1Gbps FTTP to 7,800 Homes in Moston

Virgin Media (VMO2) has announced that 7,800 additional homes in the Manchester suburb of Moston have just been put within reach of their new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based gigabit broadband and TV network, which means that residents can now access top download speeds of 1,130Mbps.

The work forms part of their ongoing Project Lightning build, which has so far extended their network to cover over 2.5 million extra UK premises since 2015/16. The operator’s original network was deployed using Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) technology, but this expansion harnesses FTTP via Radio Frequency Over Glass (RFoG) – both methods make use of the DOCSIS standard to harness the same consumer hardware.

At the same time, VMO2 are still rolling out their latest DOCSIS 3.1 network upgrade across the UK, which by the end of 2021 aims to have made download speeds of 1Gbps+ possible across their network of around 15.5 million premises. Outside those areas, you can currently expect average speeds of up to c.630Mbps from their existing EuroDOCSIS 3.0 based packages (via their top Ultimate Oomph TV bundle).

However, the operator recently announced that they also intended to upgrade their entire network (including some 14.3 million premises in existing HFC areas) to FTTP by the end of 2028 (here). On top of that they’re also proposing (here) to expand the reach of their network, using FTTP, to cover c.7 million new premises in previously unserved areas (some of these will be rural). A wholesale solution for UK ISPs is also being prepared.

Otherwise, prices for their top 1Gig package start from £62 per month on an 18-month contract term, with a guaranteed price freeze of 24 months.