U.K.'s Virgin Media To Spend $4.6B On 'Project Lightning' Effort To Extend Network

Virgin Media will spend an extra £3B ($4.6B) to extend its U.K. cable network in its "biggest investment drive" since the '90s, according to Henry Mance of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Virgin's "Project Lightning" will connect an extra 4 million homes and businesses by '20 to Virgin's network, "a process that the company says will create 6,000 jobs." The investment is "likely to increase competition with BT," the former telecom that operates the U.K.'s largest broadband network. The new scheme will be focused on "improving coverage in areas such as London, Birmingham and Manchester." It will "not bring cable to uncovered areas including Aberdeen and north Wales." Espirito Santo analyst Andrew Hogley said, "We've not seen any European companies [extending their footprint] for quite a long time." Hogley added that Virgin's new infrastructure would be "easier to monetise" than Sky's £4.2B ($6.5B) investment in three years of Premier League rights (FT, 2/13).