20,000 Milton Keynes homes get 2Gb Virgin Media broadband

Wholesale network operator, Nexfibre, has connected an additional 20,000 homes in Milton Keynes, giving them access to Virgin Media's multi-gigabit broadband.

Residents will now be able to sign up to Virgin Media's broadband with speeds up to 2Gb per second available in the area.

The rollout in Milton Keynes is part of a £4.5 billion investment by Nexfibre to bring Virgin Media broadband to a further 5 million homes by 2026.

Credit: Sharaf Maksumov/Shutterstock.com

Milton Keynes broadband

20,000 more homes in Milton Keynes can now access Virgin Media's gigabit broadband services for the first time.

Customers can sign up to packages with download speeds up to 2Gb per second, as well as opt for symmetrical upload speeds on all other plans for an extra £6 per month too.

While Virgin Media's TV 360 service isn't available on new full fibre connections, Milton Keynes residents will be able to sign up to one of their TV Max plans using the new Stream box set.

For those on a budget, Virgin Media broadband is one of the cheapest ways to access ultrafast speeds in excess of 100Mb, with their M125 broadband plan currently costing just £26 per month.

However bigger households will also now be able to benefit from Virgin Media's latest Gig2 broadband plan, which offers average download speeds of 2Gb per second - 26 times faster than the existing local average speed of 75.7Mbps in Milton Keynes (according to Ofcom's 2022 Connected Nations Report, published in December 2023).

Julie Agnew, Managing Director of Fixed Network Expansion at Virgin Media O2 said, "20,000 more homes in Milton Keynes can now feel the benefit of Virgin Media's services - with packages that include everything from next generation multigigabit broadband to easy-to-use TV streaming and entertainment services.

"These ultrareliable full fibre to the home broadband connections come with speeds - up to 26 times faster than local average - providing total peace of mind that whatever you're doing online, you'll never be slowed down by your service."

Nexfibre rollout

Nexfibre is a joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners and the shareholders of Virgin Media O2, Liberty Global and Telefonica.

The network's planned rollout aims to connect a further 5 million homes and businesses to Virgin Media broadband, as well as eventually offer the entire network of 23 million premises on a wholesale basis to other retail providers.

Milton Keynes joins other newly connected towns including Yeovil, Lowestoft, Wirral, as well as upcoming builds in Durham, to benefit from Nexfibre's £4.5 billion investment to connect more homes to multi-gigabit full fibre broadband in the next few years.

It's worth noting that while Milton Keynes, as many of the other towns Nexfibre is rolling out into, already have other full fibre options, including CityFibre and Openreach, the additional coverage will no doubt help to boost competition in the area and give residents more choice of broadband provider.

New Virgin Media connections in Milton Keynes are focused in the eastern edge of the town, with a total footprint of around 21,000, according to ThinkBroadband. Yet, for other options, the broadband analyst puts CityFibre coverage at 96,000 premises and Openreach coverage at 70,000.

Openreach (blue) and Virgin Media (red) coverage on the left, and CityFibre coverage on the right in Milton Keynes. Source: ThinkBroadband.

For those who want the fastest broadband then, Virgin Media's Gig2 package is just one option, with Vodafone now selling an up to 2.2Gbps plan in CityFibre areas, and 1.6Gbps to many properties connected via Openreach full fibre.

Ultimately, this is good news for Milton Keynes residents, with as many as 16,000 homes now having the choice between three or more networks.