U.K. television and telephony company Virgin Media Inc said Monday
it is launching the U.K.'s fastest broadband Internet service. The company,
which operates in the U.K. but is U.S.-listed, launched 50 megabit broadband
Monday, which will allow albums to be downloaded in 11 seconds and films in just
over three minutes. The service will cost as much as GBP51 a month for new
subscribers, or GBP35 a month when taken with a phone line, the company said. At
a press conference in London Monday, Chief Executive Neil Berkett said that, by
the end of the year, 40% of its customers will have access to the new high-speed
broadband, and by summer 2009 all of the 12.6 million homes covered by its fiber
optic network will have access to the service.