Virgin Media offers broadband speed boost that BT and Sky may struggle to match

The UK’s broadband could soon get a much-needed speed boost courtesy of Virgin Media. The Internet Service Provider (ISP), has just announced the launch of new technology that is fully capable of blasting the web into homes at speeds of around 10Gbps. At that rapid rate, you’d be able to download a full HD movie in under five seconds – that’s over 138 times faster than the current UK average. BT and Sky only currently offer speeds of around 900Mbps which is nowhere close to matching this upgrade from their arch rival. The boost is all thanks to something called XGS-PON which Virgin promises will future-proof its service for years to come. Along with offering much quicker downloads, this latest fibre technology can also cope with vastly improved uploads which will be a welcome relief to anyone who sends massive files or has to wait an age to post videos on platforms such as YouTube. Speaking about the changes Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer, Virgin Media O2 said: “Late last year, we announced an important milestone in the evolution of our broadband services when we began trialling state-of-the-art XGS-PON technology on our live full-fibre network. These trials proved successful so now we are taking the next step forward in our network evolution and starting to sell services powered by the latest fibre technology, known as XGS-PON, much more widely. “In the long term, XGS-PON and fibre connections will provide customers with even more bandwidth as the technology enables symmetrical upload and download speeds. This means that customers will have the ability to upload as quickly as they download, at speeds of up to 10Gbps.” Sadly, it’s not all good news with Virgin confirming that it won’t be upgrading existing fibre cable. It’s only the new network that will be treated to the update so if you already have fast Virgin speeds in your street it’s unlikely that you’ll get anything quicker in the foreseeable future. Although 10Gbps may sound pretty exesive, Virgin says it’s vital for the future. Demand for data grew 10 percent last year and things are only going to get worse as more of us stream 8K videos, download huge PS5 games and continue to work from home. Your broadband is a bit like a motorway with the more traffic running along it the slower it getting. By offering much more bandwidth, Virgin clearly hopes homes won’t suffer annoying buffering or dismal downloads when families are trying to access the web at once.