Virgin Media already offers some of the fastest broadband speeds in the UK with some customers being treated to 500Mbps downloads.
With that option, you can beam a full HD movie into your living room in just one minute which is around 10 times faster than the current UK average.
However, although this blistering performance is good for those with fibre in their street, there’s still millions of customers that still don’t have access to this technology.
Now it seems more people may soon be able to get superfast speeds no matter where they live.
Virgin says it has just trialled a new service which can beam fast broadband through the air rather than through fibre cables.
The first test was performed in a Newbury village with customers able to get gigabit speeds without needing to install expensive new infrastructure.
The innovative trial, led by Liberty Global and using Ericsson radio technology, has made use of high-capacity millimetre wave radio technology to connect two “trunk” points over three kilometres with a 10Gbps signal.
The signal is then converted within a cabinet and services are ultimately delivered to premises over a full fibre connection.
Virgin Media says it has started by initially connecting 12 homes in Greenham, located just on the edge of the market town of Newbury.
These homes are currently receiving reliable 1Gbps download and 150Mbps upload trial speeds alongside the full line-up of TV services from Virgin Media.
Speaking about the news, Jeanie York, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Virgin Media said: “As we invest to expand our ultrafast network we’re always looking at new, innovative ways to make build more efficient and connect premises that might currently be out of reach.
“While presently this is a trial, it’s clear that this technology could help to provide more people and businesses with the better broadband they deserve.”
These speeds are clearly impressive but there’s another reason why this new technology is so vital.
Virgin is boasting that by minimising disruption and avoiding the need for lengthy and expensive civil engineering work, this wireless backhaul could mean that trunk network build costs are reduced by up to 90 per cent.
This reduction could help make it viable to connect premises previously deemed too costly or logistically challenging such as rural areas and apartment blocks.
There’s no word on when a full UK rollout could happen but Virgin Media expects further trials of this technology to commence later this year.