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Virgin Media launches 50Mbps internet service in UK

by Darren Murph posted Dec 15th 2008 at 7:58PM


Remember that fanciful cable modem that Virgin Media unveiled last month? Now it's clear as day what it will be used for. This week, the operator has announced the launch of its lightning fast 50Mbps high-speed internet service in the UK. The service has instantly placed VM at the top of the class in terms of speed, though it certainly won't come cheap. Reportedly, it'll run locals some £51 ($77) per month, though the monthly fee is lowered to £35 ($53) if users also take a Virgin phone line for £11 ($17) / month. There's no mention of what regions will have access right away, though it should be rolled out "country-wide" over the next six months. Not to be completely outdone, rival BT has also come forward with plans to trial a 40Mbps service during the summer of 2009. Who knows -- maybe our "status quo" 2Mbps connections will eventually be akin to 56k modems of yesteryear.

[Thanks, Alex]

Verizon pushing FiOS internet to 50Mbps throughout US

by Darren Murph posted Jun 18th 2008 at 7:54AM


With DOCSIS 3.0 (and the corresponding 50Mbps download speeds) being deploying in varying parts of America, Verizon understands what it's up against. Reportedly, the carrier is gearing up to push its 50Mbps FiOS internet -- which is currently only available in a few of its more favored states -- to its entire US footprint. Best of all, we're hearing that all 16 FiOS-enabled states could have access to the service as early as next week, and if you're anxious to sign up, just know that it'll run you $139.95 per month with an annual contract. Thankfully, Verizon is also planning to boost speeds in the basic and middle tiers as well, with the former going from 5Mbps to 10Mbps and the latter going from 15Mbps to 20Mbps. Yeah, we like where this is headed, but we've still got aways to go before we can even sniff Sigbritt Löthberg's connection.

[Via Reuters]

Update: Here's Verizon's official release.

Verizon FiOS hitting 50Mbps in more states

by Darren Murph posted Jan 11th 2007 at 3:45PM

Sure, it's not quite 100Mpbs, but hey, the folks in Massachusetts and Rhode Island will probably take what they can get. Verizon has just announced that Massachusetts and Rhode Island have now joined New York, Connecticut and New Jersey as states where Verizon "has increased the maximum connection speed of both its mid-tier and top-tier FiOS Internet services." Previously, their mid-range connection topped out at 15Mbps downstream and a paltry 2Mbps upstream, while the high-end package offered just 30Mbps up and 5Mbps down. Basically no other details were given, but Verizon did state that it planned on bringing similar speed boosts to "11 other states where the service is available" during the course of this year, but didn't mention any type of price decreases from the admittedly lofty monthly charges top-tier customers currently pay. Now, how about we get FiOS to more homes before giving all the lucky ones even more bandwidth to play with next time you get the itch to upgrade, okay Verizon?

[Via GigaOM]




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