Virgin Media broadband speeds up

Many efforts to accelerate web speeds demand fibre

Virgin Media is widely expected to unveil a 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) domestic broadband service.

It is the first of Britain's ISPs to roll out a next generation broadband service that runs far faster than most others available to UK web users.

So far no word has been given on pricing or which parts of the country will be the first to get it.

Currently, the fastest domestic broadband speed available from Virgin Media is 20Mbps.

Regional aid

The service will put Virgin at the top of the speed league for UK ISPs. Close behind is Be Broadband which offers at 24Mbps service for