Point Topic says Virgin Media leads super-fast broadband uptake

Virgin Media is driving the adoption of super-fast broadband in the UK, according to a new report from Point Topic.

The telecoms analyst revealed more than two million households were subscribed to very-high-speed broadband services - defined as having download rates of at least 25Mbps - at the beginning of July, representing about ten per cent of all fixed-line connections.

Some 21.3 million fixed lines are active across the country, with this figure rising by 175,000 in the second quarter of 2012.

Far greater gains were made for super-fast broadband connections. Another 600,000 of these lines were added during the three-month period, with Virgin Media responsible for the majority of this figure.

BT, the cable company's biggest rival in the super-fast broadband market, attracted another 150,000 customers to these services throughout the quarter.

Virgin Media's own figures for the three months to June 30th show the number of homes signed up to super-fast broadband at the end of the period stood at 1.3 million - more than three times the total recorded a year earlier.

During the quarter, around 41 per cent of new broadband subscribers took speeds of 60Mbps or higher.