Virgin Media O2 has announced it has connected more than 17,000 homes in Cricklewood, London to its ultrafast network, bringing the benefits of gigabit broadband to tens of thousands more people for the first time.
As part of its ‘Project Lightning’ network expansion programme, Virgin Media O2 is expanding its network to bring ultrafast broadband, TV and phone services to more residents and small businesses.
Cricklewood is the latest location now able to access Virgin Media’s services, including Gig1 which offers top speeds of 1,130Mbps, 18 times faster than local average, and which is perfect for busy households working remotely, streaming TV shows and films, video calling friends and family and playing games online.
Since 2015, Virgin Media O2 has extended its footprint to reach 340,000 more premises through its Project Lightning programme in London, and made gigabit broadband available to more than 6 million Londoners. This comes following more than £200 million of broadband investment in the city in recent years.
Alongside its fixed network investment, this month Virgin Media O2 has also announced that it has made significant upgrades to its mobile network in London. Its 5G network in the capital has now extended to reach 64% of the population and last year the company upgraded 4G capacity in 41,228 postcodes across the city.
Rob Evans, Managing Director of Fixed Network Expansion at Virgin Media O2, says: “We’ve been investing in Cricklewood to give thousands of residents access to the UK’s fastest widely available speeds – 18 times faster than the local average.
“From hybrid working and video calls with friends, to VR and online gaming, our next-generation services offer customers everything they need to do more of what they love online.
Virgin Media O2 has committed to invest at least £10bn over the next 5 years in the UK and, building on the success of its existing fibre network expansion activity, is exploring options to go further and faster by deploying fibre to millions of additional homes across the country.
In July 2021, the company announced it will upgrade its entire fixed network to full fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology with completion in 2028, capable of delivering symmetrical 10Gbps download and upload speeds and beyond. This will take place alongside its expansion programme that is bringing greater choice and competition to many areas that need it most.
Virgin Media O2 recently launched its first ever joint product, Volt, enabling customers to supercharge their services and reap extra rewards simply by being customers of both Virgin Media and O2. Alongside double mobile data, roaming in 75 countries and up to £150 off a connected device, new and existing customers who take a Virgin Media broadband service and an eligible O2 Pay Monthly plan will receive a broadband speed boost to the next tier available – meaning customers on a 500mbps Virgin Media package could be boosted to Gig1 at no extra charge.
