Virgin Media has announced it is bringing gigabit fibre to the sleepy Cambridgeshire town of Papworth Everard as part of a trial.
The broadband operator will use a unique called narrow trenching - a cheap and fast way to lay cable - to connect around 100 homes in the village. It is the first time Virgin has used narrow trenching for such a project, and the company says the method could reduce the cost of network roll-outs by 33 per cent.
Although the trial is relatively small in terms of the number of homes being connected to the gigabit FTTP service, the company will also upgrade Papworth Everard's remaining premises to a 152Mbps broadband service.
Paul Buttery, Virgin Media's chief customer, networks and technology officer, said: 'Virgin Media continues to push the boundaries of broadband, launching the UK's first superfast service in 2008 and boosting Virgin Media homes yet again with 152Mbps broadband launched this year.
'We know our network is unbeatable and we are excited to bring 1Gbps to the people of Papworth as they help us explore a new way of rolling out our network faster and more cost-effectively.'
