Virgin Media broadband connects 25,000 homes in Lowestoft

More than 25,000 homes and businesses in Lowestoft can now access Virgin Media's gigabit-capable broadband, with speeds up to 36 times faster than the local average.

Investment by Nexfibre, the wholesale network owned by the parent companies of Virgin Media and O2, is helping to roll out full fibre broadband to a further 5 million homes.

The new Virgin Media connections in Lowestoft offer broadband speeds up to 2Gbps with their fastest Gig2 plan, as well as an optional symmetrical uploads add-on on all packages.

Credit: Sharaf Maksumov/Shutterstock.com

Virgin Media in Lowestoft

Lowestoft in Suffolk had no Virgin Media presence until Nexfibre began connecting properties in the last few years, with the provider now announcing as many as 25,000 homes and businesses can now access their 2Gbps broadband.

Sitting at around 80% of homes in Lowestoft, residents will now be able to sign up to any of Virgin Media's broadband deals, with speeds from 132Mbps with the cheapest M125 plan for just £25 per month, right up to their latest 2Gbps Gig2 deal if they want it.

These new connections laid by Nexfibre use XGS-PON technology that supports broadband speeds up to 10Gbps, and also means Lowestoft residents will be able to opt for Virgin Media's symmetrical upload speed boost add-on for £6 extra per month.

The downside however is Virgin Media customers connected by Nexfibre's new technology can get fast broadband but the service doesn't support Virgin's older TV 360 service or a home phone line.

They will be able to add Virgin's new Mega TV service to any broadband deal though. Mega TV uses the Virgin Stream box to deliver content over the Internet, but unlike Stream TV, it comes with 150 TV channels as standard.

Julie Agnew, Managing Director of Fixed Network Expansion at Virgin Media O2 said, "25,000 more homes in Lowestoft 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 25 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."

Competition for Lowestoft

Despite few full fibre networks operating in Suffolk, the town of Lowestoft now has a choice of three separate full fibre networks, including Openreach, CityFibre and now Nexfibre.

While Openreach full fibre is resold by providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Vodafone and EE, CityFibre connections are also sold by multiple ISPs including TalkTalk and Vodafone.

That means residents of Lowestoft join the other 2.5% of properties in the UK able to choose from 3 or more full fibre networks - which is so far just 0.8 million premises.

It does however create competition for Virgin Media with Lowestoft residents also able to access gigabit-capable broadband from a wide range of other providers, as well as discounts for bundling Sky broadband with Sky Stream TV. Read more on the differences between Sky Stream vs Virgin Stream in our guide.

Rajiv Datta, CEO at nexfibre said, "nexfibre's multi-million pound investment in Lowestoft will enable thousands of households and businesses to access the benefits of full fibre broadband, including being able to participate in the local economy and connect with the community. It marks a significant step on our journey to connect 5 million premises by 2026.".