Virgin Media broadband customers who have an ADSL connection could see their speeds double in a three-month-long trial.

Though most Virgin Media broadband customers are on its fibre-optic cable network, those who live in non-cable areas can still get broadband from the company using ADSL.

Virgin has more than 260,000 customers on its ADSL service, a spokeswoman told Web User.

The company is boosting the speed of the ADSL service from an 'up to' 8Mbps deal to an 'up to' 16Mbps connection for a trial period at no extra charge.

According to the company, availability of the service will be down to how far a customer is from an exchange, and if their exchange has been enabled for faster speeds.

Virgin recommended that customers check on its website whether the boost would be available in their area.

After the three-month trial is up, customers can pay an additional £5 per month on top of their bills to keep the 'up to' 16Mbps service.

Neil Hawkins, broadband analyst at ChooseISP.co.uk, said market conditions had forced Virgin's hand.

"It is clear that Virgin Media want to take no chances of raising the ire of their customers with a service that promises too much but delivers too little," he said.

"With Eclipse and TalkTalk having recently introduced speeds of up to 24Mbps, and UKOnline, Sky, Be and O2 already offering ADSL speeds between 16Mbps and 24Mbps, Virgin Media is all too aware of how fragile customer retention actually is," Hawkins continued.

Virgin Media recently offered a £5-per-month mobile broadband deal to existing broadband customers.

www.virginmedia.com
www.chooseisp.co.uk

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