virgin test 200mb internet connections

[faceless]

Virgin launches 200Mb broadband customer pilot scheme in Kent
Virgin Media has started a customer pilot scheme of 50 to100 households in Ashford, Kent, to test a 200Mb broadband internet supply.
By Emma Barnett,
Technology Correspondent
06 May 2009

This is four times faster than the 50Mb Virgin currently supplies homes with and is believed to be the fastest implementation of this type of technology in the world, running quicker than services offered in Japan and the US, which currently reach 160Mb and 101Mb respectively. The company has been running laboratory trials for several weeks and has now moved into the public testing phase, starting in Ashford. The pilot is expected to last at least six to 12 months.

A Virgin spokesperson would not disclose when the service would be available to the general public. They said: “It’s a pilot at this stage and we cannot commit to a date for a full commercial launch.” Throughout the pilot, the company will be testing applications consumers may be using regularly in the future, such as streaming High Definition video and playing 3D computer games.

200 Mb is faster than most routers can deliver successfully so many of the issues Virgin expects to come across will be related to receiving hardware, rather than the speed of supply. Consumers will need to optimise their computers to gain the full benefits of higher speed. A significant part of the pilot scheme will involved assessing related in-home technologies. Currently there are no wireless routers which can deliver speeds as high 200Mb, so Virgin will be working with a range of suppliers to help ensure advancements in broadband technology are able to be fully maximised during and after the trial. The company has also admitted it is considering opportunities to develop products and services for this sector through its business division.

Neil Berkett, chief executive officer at Virgin Media said: “The 200Mb pilot will give us further insight into how true ‘wideband’ services might be used by customers”. Last December, Virgin launched the 50Mb broadband internet supply to its customer base, which is the fastest internet speed in the UK.

Virgin Media revealed yesterday, in its Quarter 1 2009 results, it has added 47,000 broadband customers, compared with 88,000 at the same time last year. It has also added 30,600 television customers in the quarter, compared with 45,000 in the previous three months and 37,000 over the same period a year ago. Its total number of television customers stands at 3.65m.

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What a pun o mince - I can't even get the 50mb connection yet and they're pushing this? Only people with 1gb LAN connections will be able to use it, so it just seems a pointless gimmick.

[major.tom]

Probably not so unatainable. Most (if not all) motherboards these days are gigabit and you can get a gigabit router for < $200 CDN.

I just wish I could get 50 Mb. Currently at 10 and that's pretty fast for Canada.

[faceless]

well, it's more the fact that you need to be hardlined to the router, without wireless, that I see as the problem (though the cost for the router is a fair bit really). I'd imagine most people who would pay the premium for this would be the sort of people who don't want to be constrained by wires. It could work well in internet cafes though...