Virgin Media is set to offer broadband speeds of up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps). The global company says that 400Mbps-ready modems and routers “in the pipeline”.

400Mbps data transfer is fast enough to download an album in one second, or a high-definition movie in two minutes.
Virgin Media believe that more consumers will be demanding faster speeds from their connections. A spokesperson is reported as saying: “The crunch point is coming. There is a step-change in what people are trying to do with their broadband connection.”

The company is pledging 100Mbps by the end of 2010 for millions of customers and 400Mbps to come…

The last quarter proved good for Virgin Media in terms of increased subscribers. It appears that the cable company’s network upgrades have netted Virgin Media an increase in subscribers, totalling 38,300 new households in the first three months of the year. This amounts to more subscribers than in any other quarter since Virgin Media was formed four years ago.

A total of 72,300 customers bought cable broadband, up 53% on the same period a year ago. In the last year, Virgin Media has completed a network upgrade that means it now offers downstream speeds of up to 50Mbit/s nationally, and in local trials at 200Mbit/s.

Despite the strong customer performance, the firm still registered wider pre-tax losses of £160million.