Virgin Media to build again

Great news from VM, makes sense why the share price has been moving at a pace.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/vi...070000013.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...K-economy.html

"Connecting approximately 4 million more UK homes and businesses to broadband speeds of 152Mb, at least twice the fastest speeds available from competitors
6,000 direct new jobs, including 1,000 new apprenticeships, created over five years
£3 billion of additional private investment expected to benefit the UK economy by £8 billion"

[denphone]

All investment is welcome although if they can afford to spend £3 billion then surely they can afford to give us those missing TV channels that we are still waiting for.

Originally Posted by denphone

All investment is welcome although if they can afford to spend £3 billion then surely they can afford to give us those missing TV channels that we are still waiting for.

Think it depends on the return on investment, they know what customer penetration they get when they compete head on with Sky and BT, therefore they will have a good idea of how many customers they will attract with the additional homes.

Will investing in the missing channels pay back in terms of customer growth?

[denphone]

The thing is Mr Banana its all fine and well investing in your broadband network but one must take your eye off the ball in other parts of your network because if you do then any customers you gain one way you will lose in other ways so l think its very important to keep adding more channels including Sky Atlantic/ITV Encore and more OD content as Sky won't stand still in these departments as we have seen.

[nodrogd]

The long awaited network infill program has arrived. But no rural build, & I assume no extension to areas where build never started, like East Kent/Thanet & East Sussex. Be interesting to see whether the expansion will be HFC or FTTP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31451174

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by denphone

The thing is Mr Banana its all fine and well investing in your broadband network but one must take your eye off the ball in other parts of your network because if you do then any customers you gain one way you will lose in other ways so l think its very important to keep adding more channels including Sky Atlantic/ITV Encore and more OD content as Sky won't stand still in these departments as we have seen.

You assume that everyone who has Virgin wants Atlantic and more channels, i dont for instance and do not want to see my costs increase to provide a channel i dont watch or need. However i do want my broadband to be fit for purpose. If Virgin are to compete then they need to expand and adding more tv channels is NOT expansion.

[rhyds]

TBH I don't think anyone can truly expect VM to perform any major rural buildouts as the finances simply don't add up. It is great news to see them in a position that allows them to plan urban infill and buildout mind.

[Sirius]

I notice that the BBC have covered this in some detail but it is missing from Sky news

[1andrew1]

Great news, well done Liberty & Virgin.
http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2015/...-for-a-decade/

[Martin_D]

rsz_1rsz_vm.jpg

Originally Posted by rhyds

TBH I don't think anyone can truly expect VM to perform any major rural buildouts as the finances simply don't add up. It is great news to see them in a position that allows them to plan urban infill and buildout mind.

Just watched an interview with VM CEO and he made some interesting points. VM are approaching the build in a way that they can get to new customers fast. He pointed out that BT have infrastructure in rural areas that they were given when they were privatised, yet they use the government funding they apply for and spend in areas where VM already are.

His view is that they should be using that money in rural areas?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Sirius

You assume that everyone who has Virgin wants Atlantic and more channels, i dont for instance and do not want to see my costs increase to provide a channel i dont watch or need. However i do want my broadband to be fit for purpose. If Virgin are to compete then they need to expand and adding more tv channels is NOT expansion.

l don't assume that everybody wants Sky Atlantic and more OD content but quite a lot do and that's why they should keep investing in the TV area because its all very fine and well investing in your broadband and l am fine with that but you must not take your eye off the ball in other areas because if you do then customers will just up sticks and go elsewhere sadly if your TV offering stagnates or deteriorates.

[rhyds]

Originally Posted by Mr Banana

Just watched an interview with VM CEO and he made some interesting points. VM are approaching the build in a way that they can get to new customers fast. He pointed out that BT have infrastructure in rural areas that they were given when they were privatised, yet they use the government funding they apply for and spend in areas where VM already are.

His view is that they should be using that money in rural areas?

In Wales the subsidised fibre roll-out does seem to be targeting rural/semi rural areas rather than the densely populated urban centres, most of which BT were already upgrading on a purely commercial basis.

Originally Posted by denphone

l don't assume that everybody wants Sky Atlantic and more OD content but quite a lot do and that's why they should keep investing in the TV area because its all very fine and well investing in your broadband and l am fine with that but you must not take your eye off the ball in other areas because if you do then customers will just up sticks and go elsewhere sadly if your TV offering stagnates or deteriorates.

I agree to an extent but it still comes down to will they gain more custom by investing in those channels. From what I can gather the answer is no, within the results they also mention that churn is at a record low.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by denphone

l don't assume that everybody wants Sky Atlantic and more OD content but quite a lot do and that's why they should keep investing in the TV area because its all very fine and well investing in your broadband and l am fine with that but you must not take your eye off the ball in other areas because if you do then customers will just up sticks and go elsewhere sadly if your TV offering stagnates or deteriorates.

This build is not just for Broadband, it covers Tv and phone as well.