Virgin Media has taken the positives out of BT's recent announcement relating to the piloting of a £1.5 billion broadband network.

The provider has its own 50Mb broadband plans and is scheduled to offer faster connection speeds in the capital by the end of the year.

But a spokesperson for the company said that the first steps taken by rival BT in supplying super-fast fibre-optic broadband to London could only be a good thing.

The Virgin Media representative told Tech Radar: "As demand for on-line content and services grows, BT's announcement endorses Virgin Media's long-held view that super-fast broadband is what people want.

"Virgin Media is spearheading this roll-out by bringing a cutting edge 50Mb broadband service to some 12 million homes across the UK between now and the middle of 2009."

BT announced yesterday (Monday, October 13th) that it will be trialling its new 59Mb fibre-to-the cabinet offering in Muswell Hill, London and Whitchurch, Glamorgan.