When Virgin Media Broadband recently relaunched it’s ADSL broadband service there were high hopes for the operation which is ultimately an alternative to those outside of the company’s cable network. The service was put forward as an alternative to BT, allowing customers to bundle their telephone and broadband services together away from British Telecom. With broadband speeds of up to 20 Mb per second promised there has been a massive deluge of interest which has in many ways overwhelmed Virgin Media.
As a consequence of the massive demand for this new service, new customers are experiencing significant delays in activating their new accounts and the receipt of the required equipment is also way behind. The fact that this particular service, which is a direct competition to BT, has proved so popular will not go unnoticed by others in the sector. Even though BT has invested large sums of money into its own broadband service there is a feeling that customers do need a totally unconnected alternative which includes new line rental services.
The major issue for Virgin Broadband is that the longer the delays the more impatient new customers will become and they may well start to look elsewhere.