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Liberty Global counters Vodafone’s Kabel Deutschland bid

Liberty Global logo 2012

German fixed broadband and TV operator Kabel Deutschland has confirmed that it has received an acquisition approach from international cable provider Liberty Global. The move follows an offer from Vodafone last week. No details on the size of either offer have been made public and the prospect of a bidding war now looms.

Liberty Global to acquire Virgin Media for $23.3bn

Liberty Global intends to create the “world’s leading broadband communications company"

Negotiations between international cable operator Liberty Global and cable, fibre and ADSL network operator Virgin Media appear to have been successful, as the former has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Virgin Media for approximately $23.3bn.

UK passes 2m super-fast broadband lines in service

LondonEvening

The UK had passed the major milestone of 2mn active subscriptions to super-fast broadband services by the beginning of June, meaning that 10% of the country’s broadband lines are now capable of delivering speeds over 25 Mbps, according to a new report from UK research firm Point Topic.

Virgin Mobile to launch Polish MVNO

A Virgin Mobile MVNO will be launched in Poland this summer

The Virgin Mobile brand is set to launch in Poland as entrepreneur Richard Branson’s firm eyes growth in the Central and Eastern Europe mobile market. Virgin had formed a holding company, Virgin Mobile Central and Eastern Europe in 2011 and is looking to launch an MVNO initially in Poland, in order to provide a platform to build on in the region.

UK operators split over net neutrality code of practice

Ten UK CSPs have signed up to a net neutrality code of practice

UK fixed and mobile operators are divided over whether to sign up to a voluntary code of practice in support of net neutrality. While ten service providers have signed up, Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and Virgin Media have so far refused.

London Underground to implement wifi for Olympics

London Underground users will have free wifi access during the Olympics

London’s underground users will gain broadband access for the duration of summer 2012 after a contract was awarded to Virgin Media to provide public access wifi at up to 120 tube station platforms. The firm said that the implementation will come at no cost to the fare or taxpayer.

Virgin Media to boost speeds for UK cable customers

Virgin Media will increase speeds cable broadband speeds in the UK for free up to 120Mb

UK broadband provider Virgin Media has announced that it is to double the broadband speeds of most of its customers at no extra cost. The ISP, which provides hybrid cable connectivity to four million households across the UK, said that it will double the top-line speeds of all those on its 10Mb, 20Mb, 30Mb and 50Mb packages, while increasing those already on its 100Mb package to 120Mb.

Virgin Media trials 1.5 Gbps speeds using DOCSIS 3.0

Virgin Media is keeping up its drive to offer the fastest broadband speeds in the UK

UK cable operator Virgin Media has trialed the delivery of broadband speeds of 1.5 Gbps using DOCSIS 3.0 technology from Cisco.

Virgin Media UK completes 1.5Gbps broadband trial

Virgin Media has completed a trail offering 1.5Gbps

Virgin Media, the UK cable broadband operator, announced that it has completed a successful trial delivering speeds of 1.5Gpbs over its existing cable infrastructure. The trial was conducted on a single road in London called Old Street, part of an area that has been dubbed the ‘Silicon Roundabout’ by members of the local tech community known as the ‘TechHub’.

PCCW looking to build UK’s first LTE network

HOng Kong's PCCW could be the first to launch LTE infrastructure in the UK, using refarmed Wimax spectrum

The UK’s incumbent mobile networks could be beaten to the LTE punch by Hong Kong based telecoms company PCCW, according to a report in the Financial Times. The operator is looking to build out an LTE network as early as 2012, the report states, via its British subsidiary UK Broadband.

Virgin makes 100Mbps available to 4 mil. UK homes

Virgin's 100Mbps broadband is now in reach of four million UK homes

Virgin Media, the UK’s predominantly cable-based broadband network operator, said that its 100Mbps fibre optic service is now available to four million homes in the country.

The company said that service is now available to 100 towns in the UK, and plans to make the service available to its entire network, with a reach of 13 million people, by mid-2012. Virgin Media charges £35 a month for the service when taken with a Virgin phone line, and £45 a month as a stand-alone product.

BT offers free broadband upgrade

BT offers free broadband upgrade

UK fixed line incumbent BT is to double the headline broadband speeds for millions of consumers and businesses with a free upgrade, the company announced this week.

Disruptive business models key to survival

As the economic gloom continues to overshadow the telecommunications sector, disruptive business models combined with existing technologies are the key to staying afloat. This is according to analysts at Frost & Sullivan, which warned Thursday that the reduction in consumption is changing the adoption and acceptance of new services. Towards the end of last year [...]

Virgin Media unveils 50Mbps consumer broadband

Virgin Media is the first ISP in the UK to offer a “super fast” residential broadband service of 50Mbps. Using FTTC (fibre-to-the-cabinet) technology and then a high-speed copper link to the home, the service is not cheap: it is £51 per month, although this can be reduced to £35 if Virgin Media’s broadband users opt [...]

UK users get cheaper mobile broadband

UK service providers have started a price war over mobile broadband, after one carrier claimed that 10 per cent of users are mis-sold packages. On Friday, Telefonica’s UK operation, O2 UK, announced that research it had carried out revealed that one in ten mobile broadband users feel they were mis-sold on what it offered. The [...]

Virgin Media intros mobile broadband

UK-based cable carrier Virgin Media showed how convergence is done on Wednesday as it unveiled its first ever Mobile Broadband offer. The new service adds another string to Virgin’s bow, which already includes cable broadband, fixed line telephony, IPTV, and mobile services via the Virgin Mobile MVNO. Mobile Broadband from Virgin Media is available on [...]

Virgin adds to iPhone competition down under

Virtual network operator Virgin Mobile added to the already intense competition between iPhone sellers in the Australian market on Friday, bringing out the Apple device with its own tariffs. This looks to make Virgin the first MVNO to offer the iPhone and takes the number of providers offering the device in Oz up to four, [...]

Virgin Media stems subscriber losses

UK quad play operator Virgin Media was upbeat on Wednesday after releasing a financial report that showed it had reigned in customer departures following its public spat with Sky over content rights. Virgin recorded a return to customer growth during the third quarter, reporting 13,000 net additions to its cable network as churn reduced slightly [...]

Virgin extends acquisition talks

UK quad play provider, Virgin Media, said Tuesday that it has indefinitely extended the process which may result in the firm being sold off. Virgin revealed last month that it had received an acquisition proposal and that it would consider the offer as a part of its review of strategic alternatives. The unnamed party has [...]

Virgin ready to buy Pipex – reports

Virgin Media is poised to buy British broadband provider, Pipex Communications, according to reports. The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday – without citing sources – that the investment bank, UBS which is advising Pipex, is seeking first-round bids for the company by Friday. The paper reported that British incumbent BT, is also interested in the firm. [...]