Virgin Media speeds up mobile broadband

Virgin Media yesterday announced new, shinier, faster mobile broad at a speedy 7.2Mb.

The company's mobile broadband networks had been running at a theoretical maximum speed of 3.6Mb; in common with 02, Orange and 3 - while Vodafone stormed ahead at 7.2Mb. Now Virgin Media is up with the front-runners in terms of UK mobile broadband speeds. To get the new, faster connection you'll need the new 7.2Mb dongle, which is available on a 1 month rolling contract or an 18 month contract with data limits of 1GB or 3GB per month.

Virgin reckons that via the new dongle customers will even be able to use iPlayer or YouTube to keep up with favourite shows and watch video clips, although of course whether you are actually able to watch Eastenders on your mobile broadband connection depends on a number of factors which are pretty much beyond your control. 7.2Mb indicates that the network is capable of those speeds, not that every user will experience a super-fast connection.

Still, Virgin is very up-beat about the development. Graeme Oxby, executive director of mobile at Virgin Media said: “We’re thrilled to be offering this faster mobile broadband to our users. If you’re not at home or near a wireless connection, mobile broadband is the best way of staying connected on the move and we’re delighted to be making this a speedier, more pleasant experience for our customers. ”