Virgin Media is preparing to offer consumers download speeds of up to 50 gigabits per second (Gbps) later this year.

The move comes after an initial 'North-South' trial, which carried online traffic between London and Manchester, proved successful.

The trial employed technology from Nortel and Jupiter to increase the speed of a normal 10 Gbps network.

"Our aim for this trial was to ensure that we continue to meet the growing capacity needs of the high-speed services we deliver," said Daniel Hennessy, director of technical architecture at Virgin Media, in a statement.

The firm declared in its first-quarter financial results that four packages with network speeds of 2 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 20 Gbps and 50 Gbps will be offered to customers.

Telecoms regulator Ofcom recently launched a consultation looking at how existing infrastructure such as underground pipes, sewers and underground ducts could be used to deliver super fast broadband connections.