Cable Providers
Virgin Media is the UK's largest cable provider covering roughly half of the UK's population. Virgin Media as a cable provider offers services such as digital TV, broadband and home phone. Telewest and NTL merged together to form Virgin Media while Wightcable is available on the Isle of Wight.
 Providers of super-fast fibre (fiber) optic cable broadband, digital TV and phone packages that can be bundled together. Virgin also offer national broadband via ASDL and LLU for non-cabled areas. |  BT offer home broadband, phone and digital TV packages in the UK. Total Broadband offers up to 20Mb download speeds and BT Vision delivers digital TV via your existing TV aerial. |
Until recently there was only one major cable broadband provider in the UK, but the situation has changed recently with the launch of a new service called BT Infinity. Virgin Media is still the dominant force in the UK cable broadband industry but this latest development from BT has made the market much more interesting. So how do the services compare?
Virgin Media
Virgin Media has around a 25 per cent share of the UK broadband market, putting the provider in third place in terms of subscriber numbers. Virgin Media also provides digital television via cable to over 3.2 million people, making it the third largest television provider in the UK.
Virgin Media's various cable services can currently be accessed in about 55 per cent of UK households, although it is adding new areas to its cable network each year. The cable broadband provided by Virgin Media offers download speeds of up to 50Mbps depending on the package you choose.
Virgin Media also has plans to unveil 100Mbps and 200Mbps services in the near future. In order to get a broadband connection customers must also pay for line rental, making a home phone and broadband package a sensible choice for many users.
Virgin Media's cable broadband is not only faster than all of its rivals, but it has also been proven in independent tests to offer consistent speeds that are close to their advertised maximum.
Customers can access up to 160 digital television channels as part of Virgin Media's cable TV packages, including a variety of high definition content if you purchase the V+ HD set top box.
This box will allow you to record, pause and rewind live television and even capture two different shows simultaneously if they overlap. Virgin Media also provides catch-up TV and on-demand movies via its cable service, meaning you need never miss a favourite program again.
BT Infinity
BT's Infinity cable broadband service is still in its infancy and is currently only available to a limited number of customers around the UK. The service will be rolled out nationwide over the course of the next few years however and is therefore likely to become a key competitor to Virgin Media's cable broadband service.
BT Infinity does not use fibre optic cable to bring its service right to the user's home. Instead, the cable network connects the street level cabinets and existing telephone lines provide the ultimate connection to your household.
This is a convenient compromise, but does mean that the advertised 40Mbps download speed could be lowered by resistive copper wiring.
BT Infinity's most expensive package offers upload speeds of up to 10Mbps, which is much faster than the current maximum possible on a Virgin Media connection. BT Infinity can also be used in conjunction with other BT services, including its subscription TV service BT Vision.
Cable providers will play an important part in expanding the availability of high speed broadband services across the UK over the coming years.
02nd September 2010 Fibrecity contractors have cut a number of Virgin Media's connections in Bournemouth. |
01st September 2010 Neil Berkett of Virgin Media has argued that "urgent" changes need to be made to the way broadband speeds are advertised. |
01st September 2010 Dundee residents and small businesses will be able to download at speeds of up to 100Mb/s when work is complete on Fibrecity Holdings' new fibre optic broadband network. |
23rd August 2010 A new scheme to prevent people from watching Virgin Media channels for free has been launched. |
19th August 2010 England has the highest broadband take-up in the UK, according to a new report. |
19th August 2010 Fibre optic broadband could help to increase the popularity of BT Vision. |
19th August 2010 North-east England will get access to faster broadband thanks to a new initiative from BT. |
01st September 2010 With BT recently announcing the acquisition of its 15 millionth broadband customer, we thought it was the ideal moment to have a look at the company's best offers. |
27th August 2010 Both Virgin Media and BT offer some great value broadband bundles - it's just up to you to decide which one fits your needs the best. |
10th August 2010 Both BT and Virgin Media offer fibre optic broadband at some surprisingly cheap prices. |
04th August 2010 Virgin Media's broadband deals offer great value for money, especially when you sign up for one of its bundles. |
12th July 2010 Can Martha Lane Fox and the government succeed in getting everyone in the UK online by the London Olympics in 2012? |
09th July 2010 Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt reckons the UK could have Europe's fastest broadband in a few years' time. Is he right? |
24th June 2010 Do Virgin Media's plans to launch 400Mbps broadband put the company well ahead of its rivals? |
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