Virgin Media has reported that revenues rose by 3.3 per cent to £980 million (E1.11bn) in the fourth quarter, adding 63,600 broadband subscribers – as superfast Internet connections prove popular. Overall the provider added 28,600 net new households in the three months to the end of December, bringing the total signed up to 4.77 million.

Virgin Media said that the increase in sign-ups was due to demand for higher speed Internet connections, with 45 per cent more customers on 20Mb or faster connections than the same period in 2008 – 560,300 households. The company said that it had 41,400 subscribers to its 50Mb service at the end of December, an 81 per cent increase on the previous quarter. Virgin Media also said today that it intended to extend the pilot of its 200Mb service, which launched in Kent last year, to Coventry.

The company added 34,200 TV subscribers, taking customer numbers to 3.74 million. It said that 112,700 more households were using its enhanced V+ HD digital video recorder. VOD services are used by 58 per cent of Virgin Media’s digital TV subscriber base each month.

Virgin Media said that it had actually added 56,900 new digital TV subscribers, but this number was pegged back to 34,200 net new TV subscribers because 22,700 analogue TV customers were disconnected.

The company’s chief executive, Neil Berkett, said he expected the numbers of net new TV subscribers to significantly increase after the second quarter this year following the complete shutdown of its analogue TV operation.

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