Virgin Media shrugged off rumours of slow take-up for its premium fibre optic broadband products at the launch of its rebranded business broadband division.

Addressing questions from delegates at the event, Virgin Media Chief Executive Officer Neil Berkett rubbished suggestions that demand for its high-end broadband products had been weak.

Speculation over subscription levels for the service would be put to rest by the company’s forthcoming quarterly report, he added.

The broadband provider’s most recent quarterly results revealed that the number of subscribers for its premium XXL broadband service now stands at 20,000.

Of these, some 8,000 who have signed up since it was launched in late 2008 were new to Virgin Media.

Subscriptions for Virgin Media’s 50Mb broadband deal were likely to have boosted significantly by a price cut in September last year.

Announced this week, the rebranding of Virgin Media’s ntl: Telewest wing as Virgin Media Business has cleared the way for the high-end broadband service to go on sale to small to medium enterprises across the UK in the form of specially tailored business broadband offerings.