We all love low price unlimited usage data packs, but at the very same time, most of us are quite willing to loosen our purse strings if we
are offered better service in the form of higher speed. At least that's what Virgin Media claims, and we kind of agree with the findings. Virgin Media has substantiated its claims by adding 19,000 new subscribers to its high speed internet user base during the last quarter.
However, Virgin Media is the only one making positive progress on fast internet front. Its competitors BT and BSkyB have claimed that faster internet still does not have mass appeal and the demand is limited to a niche. Though Virgin Media finance director insists, "Superfast broadband is becoming a universal need. That’s happening very fast, and people are prepared to pay for it.”
Virgin Media's now has 54 percent of its new customers opting for speeds above 30Mbps. A year earlier, only 28 percent of its broadband users were willing to pay premium for the speed above 20Mbps. The company's last quarter also saw steady increase in the number of customers paying for superfast speed of 50Mbps and 100Mbps.
The data is likely to affect rival company's policies. It will make the companies rethink about their investment in fibre network. Sky had been postponing upgrading its network citing limited demand for high speed internet. Virgin currently has 187,000 customers opting for internet speed of 50Mbps and higher.