Virgin to double broadband speeds by 2013

Cable TV and broadband outfit Virgin Media said that the firm is set to spend £110 million to double broadband speeds for more than 4 million customers.

Part of the motivation for the upgrade is the growing demands of smartphones and tablets with the upgraded broadband speeds coming into effect over the next 18 months.

"As people are increasingly getting connected to the Internet with lots of different devices, having a fast, reliable broadband service should not be a luxury," said Virgin chief Neil Berkett.

Virgin Media said that the average connection speed of the UK could rise to over 16Mbps following the completed roll out to Virgin’s broadband upgrade. That would see the UK climb several positions in the world broadband rankings to 19th, presuming the current leaders stayed still.