Virgin Media has announced a welcome boost for Leeds with its plans to connect thousands more homes and businesses across the city and surrounding villages in 2018 as part of its Project Lightning ultrafast broadband expansion programme.
Virgin Media also announced that its services are now available to around 5,000 homes and businesses in Rothwell, near Leeds, having only started work in the area in April 2018. This continued expansion by Virgin Media will be a welcome boost to Leeds with its network offering (median) download speeds more than nine times faster than the local average (36.4Mbps*).
Leeds communities which will be benefitting this year include: Cleckheaton, Micklefield, Osmondthorpe and more of Rothwell.
The plans were made public at a Virgin Media event, held at Swithens Lane in Rothwell, attended by Elmet and Rothwell MP, Alec Shelbrooke. The occasion was held to show Mr Shelbrooke how Virgin Media carries out the work to extend its network, including the use of narrow trenching techniques where suitable conditions allow, to ensure its build is as efficient as possible, creates minimal levels of waste and reduces the disruption to the community.
More than 100,000 premises in Yorkshire are now able to access Virgin Media’s gigabit-ready broadband network which offers speeds up to 350Mbps, the fastest widely-available in the UK.
Hugh Woolford, Regional Director at Virgin Media, said: “Yorkshire has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of our Project Lightning programme and we are planning to connect thousands more homes and businesses this year. We hope that continuing to work closely with the local authority will help accelerate Leeds’ digital ambitions and allow the community to do the things they need to do and love doing more quickly and more easily.”
Alec Shelbrooke MP for Elmet and Rothwell, said: “I welcome this announcement by Virgin Media and I am encouraged by their promise to connect thousands of Rothwell homes and businesses in 2018, building on their current rollout across the UK. This will help those living and working in and around the town to finally get access to the benefits high speed internet can bring.”
Backed by parent company Liberty Global, Virgin Media has connected more than 1.2 million premises to its ultrafast broadband network through Project Lightning since 2015. It plans to connect additional premises which could extend the total reach of its network to up to 17 million homes and businesses.
For any questions about Virgin Media engineering works, residents can do the following:
E mail: ExpansionWorks@virginmedia.co.uk
Phone: 0333 000 5925
Ends
Notes to Editors
*The average download broadband speed in Leeds is 36.4Mbps. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations Report 2017, published December 15 2017.
About Virgin Media
Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.
Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we’re expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which could extend our network to up to 17 million premises.
Our interactive Virgin TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones.
Virgin Mobile launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and offers fantastic value and innovative services with 4G connectivity. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.
Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.
Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company. Liberty Global connects 22 million customers through operations in 11 countries across Europe subscribing to 46 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services. It also serves 7 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service through 12 million access points across its footprint.
Press contacts
Jamie Clarke, Virgin Media – 0333 000 2984, press@virginmedia.co.uk
Twitter: @VirginMediaCorp