Three has signed a deal with Virgin Media Business to provide a high-capacity upgrade to the company’s mobile backhaul network.

The five-year, multi-million pound deal will see Virgin Media Business upgrade Three’s backhaul services through its nationwide fibre optic network.

The new service will provide better connections between the company’s 15 aggregation sites, already underpinned by Virgin Media Business via MBNL, the 50:50 network joint venture between Three and EE, and three core data centres across the UK.

As more people switch to LTE phones, mobile operators will face increasing pressure from their customers to deliver an instant service, it is vital they have the network capacity to take the strain.

The new fibre optic service will boost Three’s network by 300Gb capacity.

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“In today’s hectic world, people increasingly demand more from their mobile devices,” said George Wareing, sales director at Virgin Media Business.

“Far from just making calls, now we want to do everything from browsing the web to streaming video. Being able to meet these demands and connect people to anything at any time is a challenge for today’s mobile operators.

“Three recognises this challenge and is doing all they can to safeguard its future services. Through our network, they can meet customer expectations and deliver a fast and consistent connection.”

Bryn Jones, Three’s CTO, added: “Being able to browse the internet and stream videos instantly without buffering has become a minimum requirement for many customers when deciding on their provider.

“With the new high-capacity backhaul network from Virgin Media Business we are ready to welcome even more people to the Three family. Regardless of where they are, now all of our customers will receive the best possible experiences when using 4G.”