Virgin Media has flipped the switch on the UK’s fastest fibre broadband connection, dubbed Gig1.
The eye-watering speeds will be available in 100,000 homes in Southhampton today, with plans to bring the Gig1 to another UK city “in the coming weeks” and 1 million customers by the end of the year. This is just the first step in Virgin Media’s ambitious plan to roll-out the speedy service to 15 million homes across the UK by the end of 2021.
So, how fast is the fastest broadband in the UK? Well, pretty unbelievably fast as it turns out.
The hyperfast Virgin Media Gig1 offers an average peak-time download speed of 1,104Mbps and an upload speed of 52Mbps. For comparison, that upload speed is about as fast as most other provider’s fibre broadband download speeds.
With 1,104Mbps available in your home, Virgin Media reckons you’ll be able to download a 1080p HD blockbuster (around 5GB in size) in just 42 seconds – that’s less time than it takes to brew a tea to sip during the movie. With the UK’s average connection, downloading the same film will take 13 minutes.
If you’d rather watch in UHD 4K (around 20GB), the Gig1 connection will have the film queued-up in less than 3 minutes, compared to nearly an hour (52 minutes) on the UK’s average connection.
And lastly, downloading a Sony PlayStation 4 game – like Red Dead Redemption 2 (99GB) – takes just 14 minutes, compared to 4 hours and 20 minutes on the average connection.
If you’re planning on streaming box sets in Ultra HD, download a raft of games to your console… all while making FaceTime calls to distant relatives, the Virgin Media Gig1 should provide more than enough bandwidth that you won’t see a hiccup – even during peak times. Of course, it’s not all about download speeds either.
The impressive upload speed means you’ll be able to back-up your treasured family members to your chosen cloud storage option in the blink of an eye, and back-up laptops, hard drives and tablets without waiting hours for the progress bar to glacially edge towards 100%.
Of course, the ludicrous 1,104Mbps speeds won’t really come into their own at the moment. Instead, they’re a sure-fire of future-proofing your home connection for the onslaught of game streaming services, like Microsoft’s Project xCloud or Google Stadia, and 8K streaming and the like.
According to Virgin Media’s research, broadband data use increases tenfold every 7 years.
Given that the average Virgin Media customer currently racks-up around 350GB of data each month, a tenfold increase in the coming decade means some seriously hefty demands. Plans like the Virgin Media Gig1 should mean you’re able to access all the online services you want to – without having an interminable wait, or hidden bills.
Speaking of bills, Virgin Media Gig1 starts from £62 per month, with the company pledging that it will freeze that price for at least 24 months.
Customers who want to upgrade their broadband to the fastest possible speeds will need to sign-up to an 18-month minimum contract.
Anyone who opts for Virgin Media Gig1 will also get the ISP’s all-new Hub 4, which is designed to deliver gigabit speeds in the home. It also has more antennas than its predecessor, the Hub 3, to offer a more reliable connection around the home. It should also mean the Hub 4 is better at juggling more devices – handy if you’ve got a large family, or a home brimming with smart home kit, connected speakers, and more.
Existing customers will be able to install the new router themselves since there’s no need for anything invasive like drilling holes in the wall to get the faster speeds. The new router makes use of Virgin Media’s next-generation broadband technology, known as DOCSIS 3.1, which it plans to deploy across its entire cable network over time.
Jeff Dodds, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Media, said: “By launching our hyperfast Gig1 services in Southampton today, we’re marking the start of next-generation gigabit connectivity across our entire network at a speed and scale unmatched by anyone else. This service is more than 20 times faster than the UK’s average broadband speed, meaning that households can do everything they want to do online, at the same time, without delay and are well set for whatever comes next. The Government has called for nationwide gigabit connectivity and we’re helping them leap forward to reach this ambition.”
To celebrate the launch of Gig1, Virgin Media is hosting one free gig (get it?) with Craig David on Thursday October 10, 2019. The exclusive one-off will be held at St Mary’s Stadium and you can apply to be in the crowd singing along to 7 Days right here.
Customers who want to sign-up to Virgin Media Gig1 can find the details at virginmedia.com/gig1