Chiltern District Council and Virgin Media have joined forces to blanket Chesham's high street with superfast WiFi. The unlimited WiFi service is available to residents, businesses and visitors passing through the centre of Chesham; the service even covers parts of Lowndes Park Chesham's 36 acre park space.
The new network can provide speeds of up to 166Mbps, seven times the average UK broadband speed* and will be delivered using cutting edge technology with connectivity delivered directly from Virgin Media's street cabinets and the UK's first ever Smart Pavement.
Users will easily be able to connect by selecting Virgin Media WiFi within the WiFi settings on their device. Virgin Media mobile customers with an Android device will be able access it seamlessly through the Virgin Media WiFi Buddy app. The pilot is available to all 21,000 residents and businesses of Chesham.
Cllr Fred Wilson, Chiltern District Council's Cabinet member for Customer Services and Chesham Town Councillor, said: "I am delighted that we've been able to bring a UK first to Chesham with Virgin Media's ultrafast WiFi, helping local people and businesses get online. Efficient connectivity is pivotal to running businesses today and I am proud we are part of a project which is crossing new boundaries.
The Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan MP, said: The internet is at the heart of modern life and it is brilliant to have such a cutting edge network in Chesham and to be right at the vanguard of connectivity in the UK. It will keep the community connected, help Chesham people save some money on their mobile bill and could be a key piece of the jigsaw in connected cities moving forward.
Martin Parkes, local business owner and spokesperson for The Better Chesham Group, said: "It's great that our customers have access to Virgin Media's public Wi-Fi both in and outside our salon. We re a very unique high street with many independent shops so we don t have the IT infrastructure that big chains benefit from. This will hugely help levelling the playing field and will hopefully bring more people to Chesham too."
Virgin Media choose to work with Chiltern District Council and Chesham in particular as the local authority is innovative and actively engaged with the local people in trying to find ways to enhance the area for both residents and businesses. Chesham is demographically representative of the UK population as a whole and is of a size that allows a quick deployment of services across the whole town, rather than specific locations. In addition, there is a significant presence of independent businesses in the town centre that allow for local level discussions when piloting new ideas and technology.
Virgin Media is building better digital infrastructure by re-drawing the UK WiFi map. It is the first in a series of initiatives to deliver better out-of-home connectivity. It is not just about extending the company's ultrafast network to more homes and upgrading speeds to Vivid 200Mbps but being the defacto provider of trusted connectivity both in the home and out of the home.
Gregor McNeil, Managing Director of Consumer at Virgin Media said: Not only is this the first time we've built metropolitan WiFi directly from our street cabinets, it is also the UK's first deployment of a WiFi connected pavement. It is literally public WiFi under your feet. We want to build more networks like this across the UK and encourage more forward thinking councils just like Chesham to get in touch.
Fast Facts About Virgin Media's Outdoor WiFi Service in Chesham
Residents are already reporting impressive wireless speeds as fast as 166Mbps in the town centre.
Local people can download an episode of Coronation Street, Strictly Come Dancing or Gogglebox at the Bus Stop with a download speed of less than 35 seconds assuming a file size of 634Mb
The new pilot offers street wide coverage using variety of discreet street furniture such as the UK's first Smart Pavement, which connects directly to Virgin Media's fibre network and provides ultrafast WiFi via a submerged access point beneath a specially developed resin cover.
Rainproof access points use a mixture of the latest tech including fibre optic cabling and superior DOCSIS 3 technology.
This ultrafast WiFi is possible even at distances of up to 80m from Virgin Media's high street cabinets.
oOt-of-home WiFi can save users money on their mobile phone bills by reducing the amount of mobile data they us when out and about in town.
Chesham has a population of over 21,000 with many residential areas, businesses, industrial centres and a pedestrianised High Street featuring numerous specialist individual shops, alongside national retailers.
Virgin Media is investing heavily in its ultrafast network to meet consumer demand. Data usage on the Virgin Media network is currently growing at a rate of 60% every year and if the trend continues data usage will be 10,000% higher by 2025. The company has also embarked on a £3 billion programme to connect four million more homes and businesses to ultrafast broadband speeds
Chesham residents and business who want Virgin Media to extend its ultrafast cable network to their home or business can register their interest at virginmedia.com/cablemystreet.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Chiltern District Council and Virgin Media have joined forces to blanket Chesham's high street with superfast WiFi. The unlimited WiFi service is available to residents, businesses and visitors passing through the centre of Chesham; the service even covers parts of Lowndes Park Chesham's 36 acre park space.
