Virgin Media has been named as ‘Ireland’s fastest broadband provider’ by Ookla for the fourth year in a row, fresh after launching its 1 gigabit broadband to nearly one million homes and premises nationwide.
The home broadband market can be a competitive one at the best of times, with providers vying for new customers in every way they know how.
However, when it comes to switching and signing up to a new broadband deal there’s one thing at the top of most people’s agendas, and that’s speed.
The independent speed test platform, Ookla, has revealed that Virgin Media has topped the bill yet again, retaining its top spot as the fastest fixed broadband provider in Ireland.
A closer look
Ookla has been analysing its internet speed test data, comparing millions of tests carried out by consumers themselves, and from all the major internet service providers in Ireland.
The results, taken from speed test data taken from Q1 to Q2, found that Virgin Media yet again surpassed its competitors, achieving the fastest average download speeds for a fixed broadband connection at 255.18Mbps.
This compared to Vodafone (175.95Mbps), Eir (112.28Mbps) and Sky (95.33Mbps) who trailed behind.
That means speeds obtained by Virgin Media customers are on average ‘72% faster than its nearest competitor’, according to Paul Higgins, Vice President of Commercial at Virgin Media.
Virgin’s customers also registered an average top upload speed of 46.86Mbps.
Mr Higgins said of the results:
“To be independently verified by Ookla, a globally recognised organisation, for the fourth year running underlines the investment we have consistently made to ensure our customers can enjoy Ireland’s fastest broadband network.
[The] announcement is another fantastic endorsement for the Virgin Media cable broadband network. The fact we own our entire network, which uses DOCSIS 3 cable technology, means we can deliver speeds that are head and shoulders above our rivals.”
Virgin Media’s In-Home Wi-Fi also excelled, with the results revealing that Virgin’s customers achieved average download speeds of 251.23Mbps, with Vodafone (156.42Mbps), Eir (111.42Mbps) and Sky (99.42Mbps) again coming in second, third and fourth places respectively.
Launch of 1 gigabit broadband
The telecommunications provider only recently rolled out its brand new 1 gigabit broadband network to 97.5% of its network, or nearly one million homes and premises nationwide.
New customers looking to upgrade their broadband connection to Virgin’s gigabit network can do so for a discounted rate of €60 a month for the first six months and €85 thereafter.
You can check out the full details in the article above, but if you want to peruse all of Virgin’s deals just click here.
Always compare
The test results pulled from data from Q1 to Q2 of this year, which included months in which people’s bandwidth was stretched to the limit, what with a lot of the country working from home.
The results speak volumes for Virgin’s dedication to providing its customers with both fast and reliable broadband speeds, and the fact it has been named the fastest for the fourth year in a row is the cherry on top for the supplier.
However, when it comes to switching broadband providers, speed is not the only factor to consider when it comes to choosing one provider over another.
We would always advise switchers to take a look at other key indicators such as price, product, and one which many tend to overlook, customer service.
Checking out the Commission for Communication Regulation (ComReg) and its website, as well as its most recent Consumer Line Statistics Report will help to determine which provider has the fewest number of registered complaints against it.
Coincidentally, in the latest report from April to June inclusive (i.e. Q2), Virgin Media yet again surpassed its competitors with the fewest number of complaints registered.
That being said, you should always compare all deals across all suppliers before making a decision.
You can use our broadband comparison tool here to compare, switch and save, and all in a matter of minutes.
Let’s hear from you
Are you a Virgin Media customer? What do you make of the results? Has your experience matched what you’ve read? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
You can always get in touch over on one of our social media platforms via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
