Virgin Media brings ultrafast broadband to Manchester

Virgin Media is rolling out ultrafast broadband in Manchester in the first phase of its £3 billion broadband investment plan, dubbed Project Lightning. 

Virgin will start work this week to connect the first 20,000 Manchester homes and businesses to broadband speeds of 152Mb, with plans to cover 150,000 premises in the city as part of a £75 million investment.

Virgin said it expects to connect more premises in neighbouring postal towns to Manchester prioritised according to demand from consumers and businesses.

“Our message is simple:  help us to cable your street. If you want to switch to broadband speeds twice as fast as you can get today, simply register with Virgin Media to ‘cablemystreet’,” said Virgin Media CEO, Tom Mockridge.

Digital Economy minister Ed Vaizey, said:  “This is wonderful news for Manchester residents and businesses. We are in the midst of a remarkable transformation of the UK’s digital landscape and Virgin Media’s £3 billion investment will play an important role in ensuring our cities are fully equipped to meet the challenges of the digital age in which we live.”

Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media unveiled Project Lightning in February this year, announcing plans to expand its ultrafast broadband connectivity to 4 million premises over the next five years.