Virgin Media has switched on its 1Gb broadband network that can connect almost one million homes to even faster fibre services from today.
The company says that switching on the new gigabit service means it has become the country’s largest gigabit broadband provider, available to 97.5% of premises in its existing network.
Commercial vice president Paul Higgins (pictured) commented: “We’re proudly leading the charge to make Ireland faster by offering gigabit connectivity across our footprint. No roll-outs, no timeframes, just 1Gb broadband now for everyone.
“We’re not announcing plans or ambitions or focusing on limited areas. Instead, from today we’re providing lightning fast broadband connectivity across the country on our gigabit network. We’re able to do this as a result of constant investment across many years in our infrastructure and network capacity, now totalling over €1 billion, together with the most advanced in-home customer experience.
“We know our customers are using their broadband more than ever before, with data usage increasing by 40% since March. With our announcement today, we’re able to give customers the option of 1Gb broadband and the latest in-home technology to unlock the power of this new capability. The fastest just got faster.”
In Association with
Customers who sign up to the new gigabit offering will require a new V2 router. The cost of the 1Gb service is €60 a month for the first six months and then €85 a month.
Virgin Media says the V2 router comes equipped with next generation broadband technology called DOCSIS 3.1. The company says that the new box and faster internet connection will facilitate much faster download of high definition 4K films and TV programmes, very large files and videos.
Speed Obsessed
The company is backing up the launch with a marketing campaign called ‘Speed Obsessed’ created by ad agency Publicis which runs until October 4.
Commercials will air on 2FM, Today FM, Newstalk, FM104, Red FM, KFM, East Coast FM, Limerick 95, Spin 103, 98FM, Spin South West and iRadio Group. The campaign is also supported by OOH, digital, search and social media.
Narrated by Succession star Brian Cox, listeners are introduced to a range of real life ‘speed obsessed’ characters who share their record breaking speed stories during two-minute ad-break takeovers. Media agency OMD says this mini-documentary style radio is an innovative and disruptive approach that is a media first in Ireland.
The campaign is also coming to life on Instagram where customers can test their own speed skills. Using facial interaction tracking, the Virgin Media Spark AR game, created in partnership with Publicis will determine who is the fastest blinker in Ireland/.
