VIRGIN BROADBAND HISTORY
FROM COPPER TO GIGABITS
THE CABLE GIANT'S JOURNEY
Before the red branding took over the UK's streets, the nation's cable infrastructure was a patchwork of fragmented providers. From the days of NTL and Telewest battling for dominance to the multi-billion pound merger with O2, the history of Virgin Media is a history of the UK's thirst for speed. It has been a turbulent ride from copper coaxial cables to the latest XGS-PON fibre revolution.
PRE-2006: THE FRAGMENTED YEARS
Before Virgin Media existed, the UK cable market was a confused mix of regional operators like Diamond Cable, Comcast UK, and NYNEX. By the turn of the millennium, these had consolidated into two giants.
| COMPANY | KEY REGIONS | THE LEGACY |
|---|---|---|
| NTL | Manchester, Glasgow, Wales, Luton | Notorious for poor customer service but massive reach. Absorbed many smaller networks. |
| TELEWEST | Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, London | Generally better regarded tech-wise; launched the 'Blueyonder' internet brand. |
THE NTL:TELEWEST MERGER (2006)
In March 2006, the two rivals merged to form NTL:Telewest. It was a clumsy name for a massive company. Critics were skeptical about merging NTL's debt with Telewest's infrastructure, but it created the UK's first true "quad-play" potential when they also completed the acquisition of Virgin Mobile in July 2006 for about £962 million.
2007: THE REBRAND TO VIRGIN MEDIA
On 8th February 2007, the NTL and Telewest brands vanished. The company licensed the "Virgin" brand from Virgin Group, promising a fresh start. It was a masterstroke in marketing that covered up the aging copper coaxial network beneath the ground.
| YEAR | SPEED MILESTONE | TECHNOLOGY |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 50 Mbps | DOCSIS 3.0 |
| 2010 | 100 Mbps | DOCSIS 3.0 |
| 2012 | 120 Mbps | Network Doubling |
- Consistent speed leader against ADSL providers
- Launch of TiVo in 2010 revolutionised TV boxes
- First to normalise "unlimited" downloads
- Superhub routers notoriously overheated
- Traffic Management (throttling) angered gamers
- Customer service remained a pain point
THE SPEED WARS (2008-2012)
This era defined Virgin Media's reputation. While BT and Sky were struggling to push 8-20 Mbps over copper phone lines (ADSL), Virgin Media aggressively marketed the service using 'fibre optic' wording; the ASA upheld several complaints about Virgin Media broadband ads over the years, while other complaints were not upheld depending on the exact wording/context. This period saw the "Stop the Copper" marketing campaigns.
In 2012, to solidify their lead, Virgin Media began a massive Speed Doubling initiative. Millions of customers saw their speeds double overnight (e.g., 10Mbps to 20Mbps, 30Mbps to 60Mbps) for free. This cemented their status as the only choice for "power users" and gamers, leaving Openreach-based providers playing catch-up for nearly a decade.
2013: ENTER LIBERTY GLOBAL
In 2013, Liberty Global agreed to acquire Virgin Media (John Malone was Liberty Global’s key shareholder/figurehead). This marked a shift from just maintaining the network to aggressively expanding it.
PROJECT LIGHTNING (2015)
This was announced in 2015 as a massive ~£3 billion expansion aiming to reach ~4 million additional premises. While it faced administrative challenges in 2017, it successfully brought high-speed cable to streets that had been stuck on slow BT copper for decades.
THE GIGABIT RACE
Under Liberty Global, Virgin launched the Gig1 service, completing the rollout in late 2021. This made them the largest gigabit-capable provider in the UK long before Openreach caught up.
HARDWARE EVOLUTION
You cannot discuss Virgin's history without mentioning the hardware. The router you received often dictated your experience.
| MODEL | YEAR | THE VERDICT |
|---|---|---|
| Superhub 1 | 2010 | Netgear based. A huge leap forward from basic modems, but prone to overheating. |
| Superhub 2/2ac | 2013 | Introduced 5GHz Wi-Fi. The "2ac" model is fondly remembered as one of their most stable units. |
| Hub 3.0 | 2016 | Controversial. Used the Intel Puma 6 chipset, which caused latency spikes (lag) for gamers. A dark spot in their hardware history. |
| Hub 4/5 | 2019/21 | Hub 4 brought DOCSIS 3.1 support for Gig1. Hub 5 introduced Wi-Fi 6. |
THE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SAGA
For years, Virgin Media was infamous for its "Subscriber Traffic Management" (STM). If you downloaded too much data during peak hours (4pm-11pm), your speed would be artificially slashed, sometimes by 50% or more. This policy was a major point of contention for users on "Unlimited" plans.
The Turning Point: Virgin Media scrapped traffic management for broadband downloads in early 2014 (uploads/other policies varied by period and package). Today, traffic management for downloads is largely a thing of the past on their residential cable services, marking a significant shift from "managed" broadband to truly unlimited connectivity.
VMO2: THE MERGER & FUTURE
In June 2021, Virgin Media merged with O2 (Telefonica UK) to form Virgin Media O2. This 50:50 joint venture combined Virgin Media’s fixed network with O2’s UK mobile network under a 50:50 joint venture.
| ERA | KEY CHANGE | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|
| THE PAST | Coaxial Cable (HFC) | Click for info on the copper legacy. |
| THE PRESENT | Project Mustang | Fibre Up to XGS-PON. |
| THE FUTURE | Nexfibre & XGS-PON | 10Gbps symmetrical speeds. |
NEXFIBRE AND BEYOND (2025-2026)
THE END OF COAX?
The old NTL/Telewest coaxial cables are finally being retired. Through a separate entity called Nexfibre (a joint venture between Liberty Global, Telefonica, and InfraVia), Virgin is now rolling out XGS-PON full fibre. This is distinct from the old network as it allows for symmetrical speeds (same upload as download) which was always Virgin's weakness compared to Openreach FTTP.
- Gigabit upgrade completed across ~15.5m homes (Dec 2021). Total homes serviceable ~18.675m (as of 30 Sep 2025).
- nexfibre footprint ~2.4m homes passed (reported early Feb 2026).
- Fibre footprint approaching ~8m premises (as of 30 Sep 2025).
- Planned combined reach of up to 23m premises
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHEN DID NTL BECOME VIRGIN MEDIA?
The rebranding officially happened on 8th February 2007, following the merger of NTL, Telewest, and the acquisition of Virgin Mobile.
WHO OWNS VIRGIN MEDIA NOW?
Virgin Media is owned by Virgin Media O2, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group licenses the name but does not own the infrastructure.
ARE THE OLD NTL CABLES STILL USED?
Yes, but they are being phased out. Much of the current network still uses the HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coax) ducts laid by NTL and Telewest in the 1990s, but the cables inside are being upgraded to full fibre under "Project Mustang" and the Nexfibre rollout.
SUMMARY: A LEGACY OF SPEED
From the clunky set-top boxes of the Telewest era to the sleek Hub 5x of today, Virgin Media has always pushed the boundaries of speed. The merger with O2 and the shift to XGS-PON ensures they remain a dominant force in UK connectivity well into the late 2020s.