Virgin Media UK Build 1Gb Broadband to 17K Homes in Cricklewood

Broadband ISP Virgin Media UK (VMO2) has today confirmed that their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network has, for the first time, been made available to over 17,000 homes in the Cricklewood area of London. Some 3,000 homes in Castleford (West Yorkshire) have also been added.

Across the UK, Virgin’s Project Lightning network build has already extended their network to cover 2.7 million extra UK premises since 2015/16 and another 500,000 premises are planned to be added during 2022, which should take the operator’s total coverage to around 16 million premises by the end of this year.

Virgin’s original network was deployed using Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) technology – reflecting 14.3 million premises, but since 2019/20 most of their new build has used FTTP via Radio Frequency Over Glass (RFoG) – both methods make use of the DOCSIS 3.1 standard to harness the same consumer kit.

In addition, VMO2 recently announced that they intend to upgrade their entire network – including in existing HFC areas – to symmetric speed capable XGS-PON based FTTP by the end of 2028 (here), with trials taking place at 50,000 homes in Stoke, Salisbury and Wakefield (here). A further 7 million premises are also proposed to be reached in the future, albeit via a separate Joint Venture (here).

Prices for their top 1130Mbps broadband package (average advertised speed) currently start at £62 per month on an 18-month contract term.