By Lilly Vitorovich Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. cable-television and Internet firm Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) said Wednesday it will spend GBP110 million to double the broadband speeds for more than 4 million of its customers amid growing usage of smartphones and tablets. Virgin Media--which competes against British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN) and BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN)--will start upgrading broadband speeds from next month. The project is expected to take 18 months and wrap-up by mid-2013. Chief Executive Neil Berkett said the internet has "become an integral part of our social, work and family lives, so we think our customers are going to love this." "As people are increasingly doing more online, and getting connected to the internet with lots of different devices, having a fast, reliable broadband service should not be a luxury. We want to make sure that consumers have access to the best value broadband service and that means a superfast connection," he said in a statement. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the group's investment, adding that "it will provide a great boost for the economy and change the way many households, consumers and businesses use the internet." "Rolling out superfast broadband across the country is a critical part of our plan to upgrade the UK's infrastructure and build a new and smarter economy," he said. Subscribers to Virgin Media's current 10 megabyte, 20Mb, 30Mb and 50Mb services will see their speeds at least doubled, with 100Mb customers seeing their speed increase to 120Mb. Customers won't pay more for the increase, a Virgin Media spokesman said. The GBP110 million investment will be primarily funded from the company's proceeds from the sale of its 50% stake in British cable-channel owner UKTV to U.S. media company Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. in August. At 0915 GMT, Virgin Media shares were down 28 pence, or 1.9%, at 1440 pence on light volume with 20,525 shares changing hands on the London Stock Exchange. The group's primary listing is on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the U.S., a legacy of its merger in 2006. -By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-207 842 9290; lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com
