All eyes on Virgin Media as 42,000 added to Project Lightning in Devon
Virgin Media has announced that 42,000 homes and businesses in Devon are its next target for the rollout of its £3bn Project Lightning ultrafast broadband.
Work has started in Torquay this week to connect 24,000 properties to the fibre optic network. Virgin says the project should be finished by the end of 2019.
Virgin has ditched its slowest broadband deals, upping the minimum speeds it offers to 100Mbps downloads.
It has also added no-contract broadband options across its range, with 300Mbps download speeds topping the charts.
All Virgin’s latest broadband deals are available for BroadbandDeals.co.uk customers now.
Maurice Daw, Regional Director at Virgin Media, said the move would help turn Devon into “a world-class digital hotspot”.
“Local residents and businesses will soon be getting the high-speed connectivity they deserve,” he said.
Virgin took a hit on Project Lightning recently after being forced to admit it had overstated by 140,000 the number of premises already completed.
Four staff were suspended and Virgin’s parent company Liberty Global was forced to admit the error after an internal investigation.
More: Virgin Project Lightning struck down with 140,000 mistake
But the Devon news shows how keen Virgin are to get Project Lightning back on track.
Local politicians joined Virgin in celebrating the news.
Kevin Foster, Member of Parliament for Torbay, said: “It is great that Virgin Media is not just talking about improving our digital infrastructure, but picking up a trowel to do so.
“This investment, bringing speeds of up to 300Mbps, is great news for keeping the bay connected and driving forward our economy.”
Torbay Council’s lead member for business, Cllr Richard Haddock added: “Opportunities like this, along with the South Devon Highway, is showing the rest of the country that Torbay is a great place to live and work.”
When finished Project Lightning is slated to reach a total 17 million homes and businesses across the UK.
