Cable broadband operator Virgin Media has extended its broadband and TV network coverage on a moderate phase to add 102k extra premises in the last three months of 2019, its financial report for Q1 2019 shows.
Full fibre or FTTP deployment outnumbered hybrid fibre installations in the last quarter. 86% of the roll out during Q1 2019 was pure fibre or Fibre to the premises (FTTP), said Virgin Media which aims to reach 15m+ UK homes by the end of 2019.
Its £3bn Project Lightning network expansion which it launched in 2015 has so far added 1.7 million UK premises. While it has already launched the new VIVID 500 ultra fast broadband (516Mbps average speed), it’s also set to upgrade its network in selected cities to provide gigabit fibre (1Gbps speed) which will also bundle the new Hub 4.0 router.
New broadband customers also increased by 35k in Q1 2019, when compared to 21.k net addition in Q4 2018. As of 31st March 2019, Virgin Media had a total broadband customer base of 5,259,600, the report stated.
Broadband subscriptions for Virgin Media’s ultra fast packages (100Mbps+) also increased marginally in Q1 2019. 79% of broadband customers have subscribed for its 100Mbps+ services which include VIVID 100 (108Mbps average), VIVID 200 (213Mbps average) and VIVID 350 (362Mbps average). 74% of broadband customers use Hub 3.0 (Super Hub 3.0 wireless router)
Virgin Phone customers also increased from 4,571,200 to 4,617,300 in the last quarter.
However, number of TV users saw a decline from 3,872,000 to 3,846,700 while the usage of its V6 set-top box increased from 57% to 60%.
When it comes to Virgin Mobile which is provided by EE on MVNO platform, its total customers fell from 3,039,500 to 3,030,600 in the last quarter.
As a part of upgrade and improved services, Virgin Media has also announced that it would boost upload speeds for existing broadband customers in the coming months.