Not one for letting its rivals steal a march on it, Virgin Media looks set to battle BT for domination of the UK’s public wireless hotspots.
According to reports in the Telegraph, the broadband and telly provider is “actively exploring” plans to go head-to-head with the telecom incumbent by setting up wireless hotspots connected to the company’s street cabinets.
The service could offer connectivity of up to 5Mbps. While a payment model has yet to be ironed out, the service could be available for free to Virgin Media customers who subscribe to its TV, Broadband and mobile packages.
The company is only aiming to provide coverage where it thinks there would be a large demand.
Kevin Baughan, Director of Advanced Technology at Virgin told the Telegraph: “Previous attempts were to fulfil a social objective. This is to solve a real problem. Steve Jobs has created phenomenal demand, and we’ve got the best fibre network in the country that could help meet it.”
“This isn’t about building broad coverage, it’s about giving you fast, predictable, access where you need it.”
The company has just recently started rolling out its 100Mbps broadband across its cable network.