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Virgin Media's biggest ever expansion to bring cable to 100,000 London homes
Not content with upping the top speed for many of its existing broadband customers, Virgin Media is also working hard to bring new subscribers into the fold. That's why the company today announced that as part of its biggest ever expansion, it'll extend its cable network to 100,000 more London homes. Virgin is focusing solely on East London, with broadband work already underway in Bethnal Green, the Isle of Dogs, Newham and West Ham. Homes in Stratford, Stepney, Poplar, Bow and East Ham are also down for future upgrades. With cable running to their properties, residents will enjoy the benefits of competition, allowing them to choose between Virgin Media 152Mb broadband speeds or BT's fibre-optic network, which delivers speeds of up to 76Mb and counts Sky and TalkTalk as wholesale suppliers.
Virgin Media customers can now log into Sky's Movies and Sports iOS apps
Virgin Media said last month its TV subscribers would soon be able to use Sky's iOS apps for getting their film and sports fixes on the move, and as of today, that's now possible. If your Virgin TV package includes Sky's Movies and Sports channels, then their respective iOS apps should let you log in with your Virgin account details. Furthermore, the same sign-in option is now available through Sky's websites, which should placate Android users while they wait for the same functionality to be added to Sky's apps on their platform.
Three customers will soon get free WiFi on the Tube
After installing WiFi throughout the London underground and allowing free access during the 2012 Olympics and well beyond, Virgin Media eventually began charging for the service to recoup some of the investment. EE and Vodafone struck a deal to keep it free for their mobile customers before that solemn day even arrived, and O2 followed suit before too long. Apparently, Three didn't fancy jumping on the bandwagon then, but has just announced its patrons will be able to enjoy the same level of complementary connectivity by the end of the July. In early August, Three also plans to launch a new app called InTouch that'll allow you to call and text over WiFi (O2's Tu Go app lets you do the same), making even Tube platforms a stage for your loud and witty banter.
Virgin Media customers to get Sky Sports and Movies access on their mobiles in August
As part of its expanded alliance with Sky, Virgin Media said its customers would be getting easier access to movies and sport on the go through Sky's mobile apps. Today, the cable company's shed some more light on how the process will work, announcing that you'll be able to log into Sky's Sport and Movie apps using your existing Virgin Media credentials from next month (if you're already a TV subscriber). At launch, only Sky's iOS apps will support this login option, meaning you'll have to wait for a future update to enjoy the same content on your Android device. Virgin, however, recently added more HD sports channels to its TV listings and enabled access to Sky's entertainment channels (not including Sky Atlantic) from its TV Anywhere app, keeping you sweet until that update comes.
Google reportedly wants in on Virgin Galactic's space business
Fresh from its $500 million acquisition of satellite specialist Skybox Imaging, Google appears to be ready to make another space-related investment. Sky News reports that the search giant is in advanced talks to take a minority stake in Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic business (which already counted Skybox Imaging as a potential customer) with a view to getting its internet satellite project off the ground. Google may invest around $30 million into the company, which is set to begin commercial flights to space later this year, forming a joint venture that would see Virgin Galactic offer up its technology in return. Reports suggest Larry Page and co. are already preparing to build 180 small satellites that will be placed into a low orbit to provide internet connections to remote areas of the globe. That, coupled with the acquisition of drone maker Titan Aerospace, suggests Google is steadily moving forward with its space project. Virgin Galactic could provide the thrust, so-to-speak, helping get Google's satellites exactly where they need to be.
Virgin Galactic's space flights cleared for US blastoff
Virgin Galactic's plans to charter its first space flights by the end of the year have been given another huge boost after it got the green light to begin planning launches. The company, which is now deep in its testing phase, signed a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help it set clear guidelines on how its missions will take place in US airspace. The agreement doesn't give Virgin a license to embark on regular trips to space (at least not yet), but instead paves the way for Richard Branson and co. to operate Galactic like a commercial airline.
Virgin Media's 'quad-play' phone, TV and net bundles now available to all
Virgin Media launched the UK's first 'quad-play' packages earlier this month, which wrap all of its mobile, landline, broadband and TV services up into neat, pay-monthly bundles. These were only available for existing customers to upgrade to initially, but right on schedule, new customers can now get in on the action, too. Furthermore, there are two additional "Big Bundles," as they're called, that complement the £35 per month Big Bang and £50 per month Big Kahuna packages (excluding line rental) Virgin announced previously. The new entry-level Big Easy bundle starts at £25 per month, and for those that need the absolute fastest, biggest and best of everything, the Big Daddy package can be had for £100 per month (again, both prices exclude line rental). You can also create your own custom bundle by bolting "Big Extras" onto the standard ones, if getting everything from the same provider and on one bill is just that little bit too simple for your taste.
Virgin Media to soon offer access to Sky Sports and Movies on mobile
Virgin Media might be locking horns with Sky in a battle over broadband and phone lines, but when it comes to programming, cable customers have enjoyed the results of a content truce. Having delivered many of its channels for a number of years, Virgin today announced it has extended its deal with Sky by another five years, ensuring that it can deliver more content in high definition and also bring some Sky channels to its mobile streaming apps for the very first time. To begin with, subscribers already paying £7 a month to access to Sky's high-definition content will see Sky Sports 3 HD, Sky Sports 4 HD and Sky Sports F1 HD added to their set-top box, with Sky Sports News HD and Sky News HD set to follow later. Virgin customers will also be able to access Sky's entertainment channels (not including Sky Atlantic) via the TV Anywhere app and, perhaps more importantly, will be given access to movies and sport via Sky's dedicated apps in the coming months. Best of all, as long as you're already paying for Sky content, you'll soon get more stuff in more places for no extra cost.
Virgin Media bundles mobile, landline, TV and broadband into new 'quad-play' packages
Virgin Media has operated as a virtual mobile operator for some time now, but had never combined smartphone plans into the cost of its TV, phone and broadband deals. That's all about to change, however, after the company confirmed today it will launch a new range of bundles that will form the first true 'quad-play' packages in the UK. The packages will start at £35 with a mobile SIM (also excluding line rental) and are marketed under names like Big Kahuna and Big Bang. You'll get unlimited calls and texts but not data -- that's only applicable to VIP Tariffs, which do not come as part of the new bundles. Before today, it looked like BT was going to become the first provider to go all in, after it signed a deal with EE to provide connectivity for its own-brand 4G network. While the telecommunications giant is expected to roll out consumer packages later this year (returning to the mobile industry after it sold Cellnet back in 2001), it will now come to market some time after one of its major rivals. It could even be pipped to the post by Sky, which is rumoured to be exploring a deal with Vodafone. Virgin's quad-play packages are now available to existing customers and will roll out to the rest of the UK in June.
A traveler's guide to in-flight WiFi
You're on a nice, long domestic flight. In coach. There's a screaming baby two rows up; the pages of the in-flight magazine are stuck together with someone else's chewing gum; and the 9-inch overhead CRT is showing a 2-year-old episode of New Girl that you've already seen a half-dozen times -- without sound, because you always end up in the seat with a broken headphone jack. Oh, and you have five hours left to go to LAX. If you play your cards right (and pack some noise-canceling headphones), your next cross-country haul could be a whole lot more pleasant, thanks to in-flight WiFi. Nearly all of the major US airlines now offer WiFi in the sky. Thousands of passengers flying above North America are online right now, watching adorable kittens meow on YouTube, reading up on their destinations or researching a new device right here on Engadget. But while some carriers offer service on many of their planes, few have it available fleet-wide, making it difficult to plan your travel around connectivity. So, which airlines offer the best service and how can you sort what you'll have on board? Join us here as we explore the turbulent world of WiFi at 30,000 feet.
Richard Branson's trying to track down the 80s kid who inspired Virgin Galactic (update: found!)
In 1988, a young chap by the name of Shihan Musafer rang BBC children's show Going Live to ask Richard Branson if he'd ever thought about travelling to space. "I'd love to go into space, as I think pretty well everybody watching this show would love to go to space," he eagerly replied. Turns out, that call 26 years ago served as the catalyst for Sir Richard to register the name Virgin Galactic, the company that's now on course to take well-moneyed civilians into outerspace later this year. To thank Shihan "for helping to inspire the idea," Branson's hoping to use the power of social to help track down the now grown-up Brit, so that he can personally invite him to get the VIP treatment while "witnessing a spaceflight." While that makes it sound like he's getting a free return ticket to the heavens, in fact he just gets to watch the rich and famous take off. So close. Update: According to the Virgin Galactic website "Thanks to everyone for your help in finding Shihan – the search is over and we've found him." There's no word on his status or a potential next step, we're still hoping there's a free ride in there somewhere.
Virgin Media pushes its fiber broadband top speed to 152Mbps
If, like Aaron Paul, you've got a Need for Speed, then Virgin Media's latest news is probably up your alley. The company has announced that it's pushing its top fiber broadband speed up from a 120Mbps all the way up to 152Mbps over the next 12 months. At the same time, Virgin has also announced that it'll be reducing the amount of traffic management during peak times. That way, you'll be able to enjoy the benefits of that supercharged connection, even when everyone else is on their PS4 or bingeing on Netflix.
Sprint announces Virgin Mobile hotspot with Spark LTE support, adds six new markets
Most carriers shy away from offering LTE on its prepaid plans, but Sprint is diving right in by making it available on its first Virgin Mobile device. The network will take advantage of Sprint's Spark service, which will offer tri-band LTE support at faster speeds on the company's Broadband2Go plans. The first device to leverage it is the Netgear Mingle, which is essentially a red version of Sprint's Zing (pictured above). You can get the fast service at a cost of $5 per day, or you can choose monthly plans of 1.5GB for $25 or 6GB fof $55. Additionally, Sprint announced that it will launch Spark in six more cities: Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston and Fort Lauderdale.
Virgin Media brings its TV Anywhere service to UK Android devices
It took a while, but Virgin Media has finally brought its TV Anywhere service to Android. Already available on the iPhone and iPad for more than a year, the app comes to Android smartphones and tablets with nine new UK TV channels including Alibi, Dave, Drama, Good Food, Home, Really, Watch, Yesterday and CBS Reality. That takes the total number of mobile channels up to 67, with up to 90 available online. Virgin Media boasts it now offers more choice than rival service Sky Go, but like it's competitor, some might be frustrated by the patchy support for Android devices. Although you'll find support for Samsung's Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note, HTC One, Sony Xperia Tablet Z and Google's Nexus tablets, you might experience issues if your device is running Android 4.4 KitKat. While you won't be able to install it on your Nexus 5 just yet, Virgin says more Android devices will join the line-up "in the very near future."
Xbox One owners report compatibility problems with UK TV providers
Nothing tests a stiff upper lip like a next-gen console launch. Having already been spooked by inaccurate pricing on the PlayStation Network, some Brits are now discovering that the Xbox One's heavily promoted TV functions aren't readily compatible with their set-top boxes. Whether on Freeview, Virgin or Sky, users' efforts to route TV output through the Xbox One's HDMI passthrough port are apparently resulting in "juddery" and unwatchable video -- perhaps because the Xbox One defaults to 60 frames per second while most UK hardware sticks to the PAL standard of 50Hz. In turn, if they're forced to give on using passthrough, they also have to miss out on the use of Kinect voice control to start watching TV, change the volume or "snap" TV side-by-side with an app. Ironically, one UK service that has made a particular point of never supporting the Xbox One -- namely, YouView -- may now offer the smoothest experience of the lot (albeit without any EPG integration), as its box seems to be more comfortable outputting a compatible signal. That won't be much help to others, however, so we've asked Microsoft's PR if there's any progress towards a fix, and in the meantime you might want to try a possible workaround from a reader at HDTVTest. [Thanks, Barry]
Virgin Galactic now accepting Bitcoin for future flights into space
As the value and credibility of Bitcoin continues to skyrocket, Virgin founder Richard Branson now wants to let people use the digital currency to finance a flight into space. Ahead of its first trips next year, Virgin Galactic has already had one "future astronaut" from Hawaii book a Bitcoin-funded ticket and hopes that its affluent clientele will follow suit. An investor himself, Branson has been pushing for governments to regulate the peer-to-peer payment system and believes that today's announcement will give it more credibility. Neither Virgin Galactic nor Branson has indicated just how many Bitcoins you'll need before you get a return ticket to the heavens, but we suspect this isn't the future that Gene Roddenberry was planning.
The Today Show will televise Virgin Galactic's first commercial space flight
If you can't quite afford the fare to space, at least you'll be watch the future of non-terrestrial tourism on your TV. NBC has won the rights to televise Virgin Galactic's first flight, and plan to make it into a three-hour Today Show special. When Sir Branson and his two children travel beyond the atmosphere next year, the build-up will be covered across the entire TV network, including CNBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel and (of course) The SyFy channel.
Virgin Gaming pushes new eSports subscription plan
The Virgin Gaming eSports league has introduced a subscription plan designed to simplify the process of winning cash by excelling at video games. Previously, those using the Virgin Gaming service on either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 would be required to shell out a small fee for each match they hoped to participate in. These fees will still be available if you like the current system, but by joining Virgin Gaming Premium, you can replace each of them with one, single $5 monthly charge. "[The subscription] takes away the small pain of giving up a share of the proceeds every time a players plays a match," stated Virgin Gaming executive vice president Wim Stocks. "That fee was discouraging people from playing more tournaments. This made a lot of sense. We expect broad participation among all skill levels." On a more pragmatic note, Virgin Gaming also hopes that this subscription fee will provide the company a more reliable revenue stream than the old, fee-based system. If you're an eSports fan hoping to join a community of like-minded virtual gladiators, Virgin Gaming is offering one month free when you sign up for your subscription. As with all such offers, signing up will require a credit card (or electronic form of payment), but players will not be charged until the first month of their membership ends.
Apple iPhone 5s and 5c now at Virgin Mobile for $100 below retail
You knew this day would come, Virgin Mobile fans, and now the highly sought after iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c are available for purchase at Virgin Mobile. Better yet, you're in for a rather nice discount, as Sprint's prepaid subsidiary is selling each of the phones outright for $100 less than you'd pay elsewhere. This puts the 16GB iPhone 5s at $550 and the 16GB iPhone 5c at $450. Each of these phones should be available for purchase either online or in a retail setting, but if you want to score an iPhone with larger storage (either 32GB or 64GB), you'll need to direct your browser to Virgin's website. With its surprisingly low pricing, perhaps Virgin Mobile is retraining its brain as well.
BT Sports now available on Virgin TV: free for some, £15 per month for others
BT is swiftly becoming a sports broadcasting force in the UK after acquiring ESPN UK and Ireland in February, then launching two of its own channels at the beginning of August. It's now found a teammate in Virgin Media, and a newly inked, three-year deal will see BT Sport 1, 2, ESPN and their HD counterparts available through Sir Richard's cable TV service. From today, all those channels go free for subscribers of the TV XL package, or can be added to other tiers for £15 per month. Watching through Virgin's TV Anywhere app is currently not supported but will be "soon," letting you gasp, shout and throw obscenities at even more screens.
