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Virgin Media to invest 3 bln pounds in broadband in Britain

Xinhua, February 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Virgin Media, a British ultrafast internet provider, announced on Friday it will invest 3 billion pounds (4.62 billion U.S. dollars) in improving its fiber optic broadband network to connect about 4 million more British homes and businesses to broadband speeds of 152Mb.

Virgin Media said the investment plan will be able to create 6,000 jobs, including 1,000 new apprenticeships, over five years.

According to economic consultancy Oxera's estimation, the program is expected to benefit the British economy by 8 billion pounds.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement: " I welcome this substantial investment from Virgin Media which is a vote of confidence in our long-term economic plan to support business and create jobs by building a superfast nation backed by world-class infrastructure."

Virgin Media noted that the broadband speeds of 152Mb would be at least as fast as the fastest speeds available from BT, TalkTalk and Sky, Virgin Media's competitors in Britain.

Virgin Media is a part of Liberty Global plc, one of the world's largest international cable companies. Together Virgin Media and Liberty Global serve 27 million customers across 14 countries. (1 pound = 1.54 U.S. dollars) Endit