Virgin Media switches on gigabit broadband in Northern Ireland

Tony Hanway

Virgin Media has announced the switch-on of gigabit broadband across its entire network in Northern Ireland, giving nearly 400,000 homes the ability to reach average download speeds of 1,104Mbps.

The news follows on from a similar switch-on across the border in the Republic of Ireland in August.

The Liberty Global-owned operator said that it has invested £150 million in Northern Ireland over the last five years, with its network covering Belfast, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Craigavon, Derry, Lisburn, Newtownabbey, Portadown and other towns.

Tony Hanway, CEO of Virgin Media Ireland, said: “As the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way we all work and live, our fibre rich networks and gigabit broadband service continue to deliver seamless connectivity that has never been more crucial.

“Today’s announcement for Virgin Media in Northern Ireland reinforces our efforts as a company to be able to offer customers the very best speeds possible and the latest in-home technology to unlock the power of this new capability.”

Virgin Media was a solid performer for Liberty Global in its most recent earnings results. The UK and Ireland gained a combined 37,000 customer relationships for the company, while CEO Mike Fries maintained confidence that the merger between Virgin and Telefónica’s mobile business O2 will go ahead as planned.