Full-fibre broadband with average top speeds of 1,130Mbps now available to more than 6,900 additional homes and businesses in Stirling for the first-time, following nexfibre investment
Alyn Smith MP welcomes the investment, as Stirling residents can now benefit from broadband up to 25 times faster* than the local average
Services are now available in Stirling thanks to recent investment by nexfibre, Virgin Media O2’s partner, to expand its full-fibre wholesale network
Thursday 14th September 2023: The first phase of nexfibre’s work to bring full fibre broadband connectivity to the City of Stirling has been completed, meaning residents can now access Virgin Media’s services which are up to 25 times faster* than the local average. These hyperfast connections, offering top speeds of 1,130Mbps, are perfect for busy households working remotely, streaming Ultra HD TV shows and films, video calling friends and family, and playing games online.
Virgin Media’s services are now available locally following a multimillion-pound investment from nexfibre to build new full fibre connections in the area. The ultrafast network has been built as part of a £4.5bn investment by nexfibre to deliver high speed fibre to the home (FTTH) connections to 5 million homes across the UK by 2026, with the option of expanding to an additional 2 million homes. Virgin Media is using this next-generation network to deliver its broadband and TV Stream services to homes and businesses in the area.
The project to upgrade local broadband network is continuing so more homes and businesses in Stirling will benefit from faster internet speeds in the future.
The investment has been welcomed by local MP, Alyn Smith, on a recent site visit where he met representatives from both nexfibre and Virgin Media O2.
Alyn Smith, MP for Stirling, said: “I welcome the latest investment in Stirling that will ensure my constituents have access to some of the UK’s fastest broadband speeds. It was great to meet with representatives from both Virgin Media O2 and nexfibre to discuss the progress they have made so far, as well as the plans they have to make gigabit broadband available to even more residents in the area.”
Fernando Molina, Chief Technology & Information Officer at nexfibre said: “By investing in the City of Stirling, nexfibre will enable thousands of households and businesses to access the benefits of ultrafast broadband, including being able to participate in the local economy and connect with their communities.
We are on a mission to build and expand our network in suburban and semi-rural areas and look forward to continuing to do so in the areas surrounding Stirling, helping to close the digital divide and boost opportunities for thousands of people.”
Julie Agnew, Managing Director of Fixed Network Expansion at Virgin Media O2 said: “Nearly 7,000 homes and businesses in Stirling can now feel the benefit of Virgin Media’s services – with packages that include everything from next generation gigabit broadband to easy-to-use TV streaming and entertainment services.
“These ultrareliable full fibre to the home broadband connections come with speeds up to 25 times faster than local average – providing local people with total peace of mind that whatever they’re doing online, their connection won’t slow them down.”
Virgin Media O2 is leading Britain’s gigabit charge with speeds of 1,000Mbps+ available across its entire network. The company invests around £2bn a year in its networks and services and is also in the process of upgrading its entire fixed network to full fibre to the home (FTTH) technology over the coming years.
nexfibre is a joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefónica and is financed with £4.5 billion of equity and debt investment. It will initially roll out fibre to 5 million homes not currently served by Virgin Media O2’s network by 2026, with the opportunity to expand to an additional 2 million homes. Virgin Media O2 is the anchor tenant of this joint venture and provides build services to nexfibre. Taken together, nexfibre and Virgin Media O2 will cover up to 23 million premises or around 80% of the UK later this decade.
In addition to its ultrafast broadband network, Virgin Media O2’s mobile network covers 99% of the nation’s population with 4G, with the business also rolling out 5G services to bring the latest mobile connectivity to more parts of the country. O2 is the only mobile network operator not to have reintroduced roaming fees in Europe and customers can save week-in week-out through Priority – its reward scheme which gives exclusive access to offers, prize draws, competitions, and presale tickets.
Customers of both Virgin Media and O2 can supercharge their services and reap extra rewards through Volt. Alongside double mobile data, roaming in 75 countries, new and existing customers who take a Virgin Media broadband service and an eligible O2 Pay Monthly plan will receive a broadband speed boost to the next tier available – meaning customers on a 500Mbps Virgin Media package could be boosted to Gig1 at no extra charge.
Notes to Editors
*The average (median) broadband speed in Stirling is 43.8 Mbps. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations Report 2022, published 15 December 2022.
nexfibre is a next generation broadband company on a mission to deliver high-speed fibre to the home (FTTH) to millions across the UK. It is a joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners and Virgin Media O2’s shareholders, Liberty Global and Telefónica