Virgin Wifi hotspots twice as fast as average broadband speed

Users of Virgin Media's free Wifi hotspots around London Underground are getting broadband speeds more than twice as fast as the average for UK homes.

According to Broadband Choices, the average speed for users of the internet service provider's service, which is currently free, is 18.36Mbits/sec compared to the average UK landline speed of 7.6Mbits/sec.

The broadband price comparison site said its tests also revealed that the speeds from Virgin had actually increased by 44 per cent during the games.

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Broadband Choices said of the underground stations it had tested, Green Park came top with a download speed of 21.73Mbits/sec followed by Euston with 19.92Mbits/sec and Kings Cross with 18.49Mbits/sec.

A number of internest service providers including O2 and BT had set up free wifi in time for the London Olympics. But Dominic Baliszewski, telecoms expert at Broadbandchoices.co.uk, said: "London's tube Wi-Fi has proved to be an unsung hero of the Olympics – keeping travellers online, in touch and able to watch every nail-biting moment of the games even if they're stuck on the platform instead of at the stadium.

"A 44-per-cent boost in broadband speed is extremely impressive, especially considering that the London Underground has had to cope with record numbers of passengers over the last two weeks.

"However, it is also a shaming contrast with households living in rural areas who are languishing on broadband speeds that can barely stream a 30-second music clip, let alone live footage of Usain Bolt breaking another record [as shown by Ofcom's interactive broadband map]."

Although Virgin Media's Usain Bolt ads for its cable broadband service were recently banned by the Adveritsing Standards Authority, the company's underground Wifi service which is delivering these speeds is currently free for all passengers to use until the Paralympic games finish. It will remain free for Virgin Media customers.