Virgin Media launching 1.5Gbps fibre broadband trial this month

Virgin Media is set to launch a trial of up to 1.5Gbps fibre optic broadband in an area of east London.

The cable company claimed the pilot scheme will see four businesses located in the vicinity of the capital's Old Street get access to the world's fastest cable broadband.

When the test, announced today (April 20th 2011), gets underway it will offer speeds that are as much as 240 times faster than the UK's average broadband speed of 6.2Mbps, recorded by Ofcom last November and December.

Explaining the technology used to offer a 1.5Gbps connection, Virgin Media stated its infrastructure is theoretically capable of delivering near-infinite capacity.

"While the average home might not need these speeds quite yet, we certainly will. The internet is critical to what we do and intrinsically linked to our future growth," said Sam Orams, co-founder of BespokeBanter.com, one of the companies involved in the project.

Virgin also offers 100Mbps fibre optic broadband - billed as the UK's fastest service - to more than one million homes across the country.