Sir Richard Branson launches 'Broadband Schools' in UK

Posted by David Walker on Mon 27 Apr 2009

Presumably just a one-day course

According to Virgin Media, a good number of us are confused by broadband and scared of downloading anything from the web. The solution? Broadband Schools, according to Virgin figurehead Sir Richard Branson.

Virgin Media's research of 3,000 internet users found that 44 per cent were left in the dark by the word ‘mega-bit’, one in three was scared of downloading due to 'security issues', one in ten thought Blu-ray was a type of broadband and worst of all, 17 per cent didn't know what broadband was. We wonder how those 'internet users' are curently getting online - with the aid of some string and tin cans?

With that in mind, Virgin Media is planning those Broadband Schools, starting with the cities with the least broadband knowledge. That should mean classes in Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, London and Wolverhampton very soon - although specific details of any classes were conspiciously absent from Virgin Media's announcement.

But if you do go, you just might see Sir Richard hovering at the back: 'As many of you may know I’ve never been terribly technical and I’m not at all ashamed to say that I’m probably a prime candidate for a Broadband School. I’m not alone, there are thousands of people in the same boat, and the only way they will ever learn is if things are kept simple. At Virgin Media we want everyone to feel comfortable asking questions, no matter how silly they think they are, so that they can get the most out of their internet service and enjoy everything the internet has to offer.”

Presumably, details of the Broadband Schools will follow, so keep a check on the Virgin Media site if you are struggling to get online. Although if you're reading this, we'll guess you already have it covered.

Link: Virgin Media