Liberty Global, Virgin Media Bring Gigabit Speeds to Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford

Liberty Global plc, a global converged video, broadband and communications companies, has launched gigabit broadband services from Virgin Media to almost 1 million homes in Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford.

Following the addition of the cities and their surrounding areas to Liberty Global’s gigabit capable footprint, a total of more than 12 million homes across Europe are now gigabit ready. This rises to 13.2 million homes with the inclusion of the gigabit footprint of VodafoneZiggo, its Joint Venture in the Netherlands.

With a gigabit connection, ultra-high definition 4K films and TV programmes, very large files and videos can be downloaded almost instantaneously, even with multiple devices using a connection at the same time.

Virgin Media’s gigabit network now covers one in four Virgin Media premises. Thanks to continued investment, Virgin Media now boasts the largest gigabit network in the UK, surpassing all other networks. The speed increases in Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford are part of Virgin Media’s plan to bring gigabit speeds to more than 15 million homes across its entire network by the end of 2021, significantly ahead of the UK government’s target of delivering gigabit-capable broadband nationwide by 2025.

The cities are the latest in a growing list of that can now experience speeds 17 times faster than the UK average. Virgin Media has already connected cities including Southampton, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, Reading Liverpool and Edinburgh to its gigabit network, all delivered through Virgin Media’s newest and most powerful router, the Hub 4.

Liberty Global is set to launch gigabit speed services in even more cities in the coming months as it continues to boost superfast internet access across Europe. Elsewhere amongst Liberty Global’s operating companies, Telenet and UPC Switzerland connected customers throughout their entire networks last year, while UPC Poland has so far connected more than 60 cities to its gigabit service.

Mike Fries, CEO, Liberty Global, comments: “Within the past 10 years we have gone from offering speeds of 100Mbps to making gigabit ready connections available to more than 12 million homes across our European footprint. We’re continuing to invest in the fastest broadband network in the UK and our recently announced merger with O2 creates an even more exciting opportunity to accelerate growth in the future.”

Gigabit speeds revolutionise the digital experience by making the next generation of home entertainment technology a reality. Applications of gigabit speeds include cloud-based gaming, 8K streaming, remote health telemonitoring and advanced telepresence, which could enable consumers to go ‘virtual reality shopping’ or watch live broadcasts of holographic sports events.

By providing ultra-high capacity, reliable, secure, resilient and low latency networks, gigabit speed broadband services will unlock significant economic growth. According to research from international management consulting firm, Arthur D. Little, the innovation spurred by the widespread availability of Gigabit speeds are estimated to deliver between €250-660 billion of economic value per year in Europe by 2025.