Virgin to offer 100Mb/s broadband by year's end
200Mb/s to follow
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Virgin Media is to offer 100Mb/s broadband by the end of 2010.
The 100Mb/s service will allow users to download a music album in as little as five seconds, an hour long TV show in 31 seconds and an HD movie in seven minutes 25 seconds, the cableco claimed.
Virgin currently offers three broadband packages: 10Mb/s, 20Mb/s and 50Mb/s, priced at £20, £30 and £38 per month on a broadband-only subscription.
The ISP didn't say whether the introduction of the 100Mb/s will see the 10Mb/s service dropped and the two other speeds drop a price tier, or it will become a fourth, premium package.
As always, the caveat is that these speeds are simply "up to" maxima, though Virgin claimed its fibre-optical network "means it is able to deliver very close to advertised headline speeds".
Virgin is already trialling a 200Mb/s service, but hasn't said when this might be rolled out commercially. ®
COMMENTS
Who needs speeds like this
Considering that Virgin are going to packet sniff (CView) all your downloads and perhaps cut you off, or report you to the RIAA/FACT Mafia or murder your children (depending on which version of the Mandybill makes it to law)
Oh dear do I hear the rumble of Linx Distro's coming..........
I think I will just stay at my 20mb connection. After all if I can't download what I want, and copyright law is so complex that even the people the write the laws can't work them out what you are and aren't allowed to download. Why bother. The kids will just have to watch old fashioned TV and I can just STEAM away.
It will be a cold day in hell before the Big 4 get anymore of my money for substandard DVD's. Its the only way to fight back. Hit them where it hurts,. In their pocket.
I'm sure I'm not going to be the only one to say this...
Such speeds are all very well and good, but not much use if you hit a usage cap in seconds, or if the the wet piece of string that connects Virgin to the rest of t'interwebs isn't upgraded.
The "up to" isn't the problem...
...I always got the top speed without difficulty. The problem arose when I actually tried to USE the bandwidth. Then they throttled my ass back into the 1990s. I'm immensely happier with the ca. 13Mbit/sec I get from BE (which I can actually max out 24/7 if I want to) than I'd ever be with 100Mbit/sec from NTL (whoops, I mean "Virgin") if I can't download for more than a couple of hours without being strangled.
I will NEVER go back to Virgin BB, until they provide an unthrottled service. That and a half-decent upload speed would be good.
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