Virgin Media to invest £3 bn on fibre-optic network

Virgin Media, acquired in 2013 by US cable operator Liberty Global Inc, plans to invest £3 billion on improving its fibre-optic broadband network.

Virgin  says the investment could deliver £8 billion in wider economic benefits and would represent the biggest investment in broadband infrastructure in a decade.

''Project Lightining'' as it is called, would will extend its fibre network to around four million more homes and businesses, taking the number of premises to which the company can offer services to nearly 17 million by 2020, creating 6,000 new jobs.

Welcoming the announcement the government said, the additional private investment would create more opportunities for people and businesses, further boosting the digital economy and helping secure a brighter future for UK.

Virgin Media added, economists had estimated that its upgrade, which would extend the network's reach from 13 million homes to 17 million, could stimulate a combined £8 billion of ''economic activity and consumer benefit''. With the investment 6,000 jobs would be created including 1,000 apprenticeships, it added.

Meanwhile, The Scotsman reported that Liberty Global chief executive Mike Fries said the project followed a record operating performance and was a significant investment that demonstrated the confidence ''we have in Virgin Media and the UK as a place to do business''.

Supporting the plans prime minister David Cameron said they were helping to build ''a superfast nation backed by world-class infrastructure''.

He added: ''Together with the [UK] government's rollout of superfast broadband which has now reached more than two million UK homes and businesses, this additional private investment will create more opportunities for people and businesses, further boosting our digital economy and helping secure a brighter future for Britain.''

Virgin added it was able to offer broadband speeds of up to 152Mb, which it claimed was twice as fast as the best speeds available from BT, TalkTalk and Sky. Data usage on its network was currently growing at the rate of  around 60 per cent a year.

According to industry experts, Virgin's fibre roll out comes as the latest challenge in the so-called ''quad-play'' telecoms market – home phone, mobile, broadband and cable TV.