Virgin Media has undertaken trials of a new network technology that is capable of speeds up to 400Gbps.

Prototype Infinera XR Optics technology installed on part of its full-fubre network in Reading has the potential of hitting 400-gig over a single fibre. The trials proved it could well exceed the 10Gbps achieved in 2019's symmetric full-fibre home broadband tech tests.

"Our next-generation network already offers gigabit connectivity to more than seven million homes, but with data use and demand for hyperfast speeds surging, we’re continually investing in our network to prepare for whatever the future brings," said Virgin Media's CTO, Jeanie York.

"Innovations like this ensure our customers continue to benefit from the UK’s fastest widely available speeds, pave the way for future network upgrades and help support the rollout of multi-gigabit broadband and mobile services."

The new technology replaces traditional network transceivers and is able to split a single fibre optic cable into multiple connections, each taking a share of the overall capacity. This enables the cable to supply muti-gigabit speeds to multiple customers simultaneously.

It plugs into Virgin Media's existing network, so can be retrofitted when fully available.

"This represents a radical shift in the way networks can be built, promising a more flexible and sustainable way to meet the ever increasing need to transmit more data at higher speeds," said the co-founder of Infinera, Dave Welch.