Investing $4.6B to hook up 4 million new sites to superfast broadband
Dubbed Project Lightning, Virgin Media has announced plans to spend more than $4.6 billion to bring 152 Mbps broadband Internet to some 4 million homes and businesses in the U.K.
Virgin touts its data speed as “at least” twice as fast as competitor offerings; and Virgin Media’s CEO even name-checked carrier BT, which also operates in the U.K. broadband space.
“In virtually all of the areas we have identified for expansion,” CEO Tom Mockridge said, “BT is the only option available right now. Its aging copper telephony wires are not capable of the ultrafast connectivity that Virgin Media delivers.”
He continued: “Soon we will offer unbeatable services to even more homes and businesses across the country.”
Project Lightning is a 5-year plan that the company said will create more than 6,000 new jobs and benefit the U.K. economy to the tune of more than $12 billion, with plans to serve 17 million homes and businesses by 2020.
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U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, called the investment “a vote of confidence in our long-term economic plan to support business and create jobs by building a superfast nation backed by world-class infrastructure.
“These 6,000 new jobs and apprenticeships will mean financial security and economic peace of mind for thousands more hardworking families across the country,” Cameron said. “Together with this government’s rollout of superfast broadband, which has now reached more than 2 million U.K. homes and businesses, this additional private investment will create more opportunities for people and businesses, further boosting our digital economy and helping secure a brighter future for Britain.”
Virgin Media is a subsidiary of Liberty Global, which operates fiber networks throughout Europe that support about 50 million customers.
Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said, “Project Lightning is a significant investment that demonstrates the confidence we have in Virgin Media and the U.K. as a place to do business.”