Virgin Media’s Gig1 Fibre goes live in Reading promising speeds 25 times faster than the average
Virgin Media’s Gig1 is now available in the Calcot, Caversham, Earley, Tilehurst and Woodley areas of the town with more coming soon
Fresh off the back of its Gig1 Fibre package launching in Southampton and Manchester earlier this year, Virgin Media has begun rolling out the superfast broadband services to Reading and its surrounding villages.
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Described by Virgin Media as the UK’s fastest gigabit home broadband package, Gig1 is said to be 25 times faster, at 1,104Mbits/sec than Reading’s average – recorded at 40Mbits/sec speeds in Ofcom’s 2018 Connected Nations Report – and offers upload speeds of 52Mbits/sec.
Homes in and around Reading in the Calcot, Caversham, Earley, Tilehurst and Woodley areas are able to sign up to these speeds from today, and surrounding villages including Pangbourne, Twyford, Shinfield and Theale set to benefit soon.
Other nearby towns including Newbury, Bracknell, Wokingham, Thatcham, Basingstoke and High Wycombe will be among the next in line to get the service as part of the company’s plan to bring gigabit speeds to 15 million homes by the end of 2021.
As you’d imagine, the packages don’t come cheap. For broadband only, you’ll be paying a minimum of £62 a month for Gig1. This price does include Virgin’s latest Hub 4 router, though, which has more antennae than its predecessor, the Hub 3, meaning it can manage more devices at the same time.
This monthly price rises as you add on more features, including Virgin TV, and the most expensive package costs a staggering £119 a month. The details of each bundle are shown below.
| Bundle | Monthly price |
| Broadband only | £62 |
| Broadband and phone | £67 |
| Big Bundle (Mixit TV, broadband, phone) | £72 |
| Bigger Bundle (Maxit TV, broadband, phone) | £89 |
| Bigger Bundle + movies (Maxit TV + Sky Cinema HD, broadband, phone) | £99 |
| Bigger Bundle + sports (Maxit TV + Sky Sports HD+ Sky Sports HD, broadband, phone) | £105 |
| Bigger Bundle + sports and movies (Maxit TV + Sky Sports HD and Sky Cinema HD + Sky Sports HD, broadband, phone) | £109 |
| Ultimate Oomph Bundle (All the TV, Ultimate Oomph Bundle broadband, phone and a truly unlimited SIM) | £119 |
Sign up to Virgin Media’s Gig1 Fibre plan
These prices are available to new and existing customers on an 18-month contract with a guaranteed price freeze for at least 24 months.
Virgin Media will announce which cities are next to benefit from its Gig1 service next year when it continues its national gigabit rollout plan.