Well this is most welcome news this Wednesday morning and is timed beautifully with my post on streaming with LoveFilm vs. Netflix that I put up yesterday. Streaming movies relies solely on the speed of your internet connection to deliver the service that providers like Netflix and LOVEFiLM are pushing out, and today Virgin Media have announced that they’ll be doubling the internet speeds that their customers are already on for not extra charge.

I’m a big fan of Virgin Media because of the boundaries they push, the speeds they offer but a big plus for me is the fact they have no bandwidth limits and have by far and away the best upload speeds of any Internet Service Provider.

Here’s the current speed upgrades in a nutshell:

  • 10mb upgrades to 20mb
  • 20mb upgrades to 40mb
  • 30mb upgrades to 60mb
  • 50mb upgrades to 100mb
  • 100mb upgrades to 120mb

The latter will make the speeds the fastest in the country and will put other ISPs in the shade but really forces them to up their game.

Have a look at the full press release below but in a nutshell, this is very good news for UK Broadband and I am very excited that at some point in the near future, I’ll be getting 100mb internet with a 10mb upload speed! WOOHOO! Roll on mid 2013!

VIRGIN MEDIA BOOSTS BRITAIN’S BROADBAND SPEEDS

  • Over four million households will have speeds doubled
  • Next-generation speeds to catapult UK up international rankings
  • 120Mb to become fastest broadband speed in the country
  • Government welcomes broadband boost

Virgin Media (NASDAQ: VMED; LSE: VMED) has today announced it is doubling the speeds of over four million of its broadband customers and will be boosting its top speed to 120Mb, strengthening the company’s position as the fastest broadband provider in the UK1. This ambitious initiative will help meet the growing demand for next generation broadband and marks a step change in the UK’s digital development.

With the mass roll-out starting in February 2012, the upgrade programme will continue over 18 months and is expected to be complete by mid 2013. Subscribers to Virgin Media’s current 10Mb, 20Mb, 30Mb and 50Mb services will see their speeds at least doubled, with 100Mb customers seeing a significant increase to 120Mb. These speeds will ensure customers get high quality access to the huge growth in new online services.

The widespread availability of superfast broadband supports the Government’s ambitions of ensuring that consumers have access to the best broadband services in Europe by 2015. Virgin Media’s upgrade programme forms part of its on-going commitment to delivering the fastest broadband speeds in the UK and will catapult Britain into the world’s broadband premier league.

Virgin Media chief executive officer, Neil Berkett, said: “The burgeoning market for better connectivity has given us an opportunity to transform the digital experience of millions of our customers and to bring about a massive step change in the number of UK consumers who have access to exciting, next generation services. Virgin Media has a track record of leading Britain’s digital development and this major initiative will meet the growing demand for faster broadband as well as provide significantly more value to our customers.

“The internet has become an integral part of our social, work and family lives, so we think our customers are going to love this. As people are increasingly doing more online, and getting connected to the internet with lots of different devices, having a fast, reliable broadband service should not be a luxury. We want to make sure that consumers have access to the best value broadband service and that means a superfast connection.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I welcome this announcement from Virgin Media; it will provide a great boost for the economy and change the way many households, consumers and businesses use the internet. Rolling out superfast broadband across the country is a critical part of our plan to upgrade the UK’s infrastructure and build a new and smarter economy.”

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, said: “Faster broadband speeds are great for customers and great for business, which is why our policy is to deliver superfast broadband to 90% of the country by 2015. Virgin Media’s plans to double broadband speeds are really exciting and we applaud their ambition.”

120Mb broadband will allow users to download an entire music album in as little as 4.4 seconds and a High Definition movie in around 5 minutes; but the service will truly come into its own when several people are connected to the internet at home at the same time. Faster broadband gives users greater bandwidth to cope with the demands of increasing numbers of internet connected devices.