Major ISP increases broadband customer base in Q3

Major internet service provider (ISP) Virgin Media increased its broadband subscriber numbers to over four million during the third quarter.

The increase was partly due to the company's ADSL2+ service, which offers customers connection speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) and gained the company 7,300 additional subscribers throughout the quarter.

In addition, nearly three-quarters of all Virgin's customers are now subscribed to services of at least 10Mbps, while 13 per cent have speeds of at least 20Mbps, which could deliver faster download times and more efficient uses of VoIP solutions.

Neil Berkett, chief executive officer of Virgin Media, said: "Our triple-play penetration is at record levels and over ten per cent of our customers now take all four services from us."

Around 20,000 people are currently subscribed to Virgin's fastest service, which provides up to 50Mbps.

One of Virgin's main rivals is BT, which is investing £1.5 billion in the development of next-generation networks throughout the UK.