Virgin Media broadband deals

About Virgin Media

Founded by Richard Branson in 1989, Virgin Media is one of the leading broadband and TV providers in the UK, supplying some of the fastest internet speeds in the country thanks to its own dedicated cable network.

Its ultrafast broadband connections allow for astonishingly fast downloading and very high-quality gaming and TV streaming.

Virgin Media deals don't stop at fast internet speeds. Virgin UK is a quad-play provider, which means it also offers home phone, pay-TV and mobile phone services. But since its recent merge with mobile network O2, it can now offer even better quality products across both providers.

Because of its incredible speeds and comprehensive, content-heavy tariffs, Virgin Media internet packages are particularly suited to busy households with a high demand for internet and other telecoms services.

Key features of Virgin Media broadband

• Ultrafast and gigabit (1Gbps) speed broadband

• Wide range of phone, mobile and TV services

• Free Virgin Media Hub 5 Wi-Fi router

• Advanced Virgin TV 360 set-top box with a wide range of blockbuster content, great features and exclusive add-ons

• Virgin Stream hub offering money-back for each streaming service you connect

• Add-on mobile phone benefits with sister company O2

• 18-month contracts

Virgin Media broadband deals

Virgin Media broadband connections are delivered via its own cable network, which uses more advanced technology than the Openreach partial-fibre network.

This means it can offer significantly higher speeds than the typical superfast fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband services that depend on Openreach's network.

And that means there are a range of ultrafast (and even gigabit) packages to choose from.

Find out more with our Uswitch review of Virgin Media.

Uswitch Virgin Media broadband and phone deals in June 2023

Even the most basic Virgin Media broadband and phone deals offer fast speeds.

They start with average download speeds of 54Mbps and go as fast as 1.1Gbps (or 1100Mbps). They also include a Virgin Media home phone line and free weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin Mobile numbers.

You can add a number of additional extras, including free weekend calls to all mobiles and evening or anytime calls to UK or international numbers, depending on your needs.

Since Virgin Media runs its own infrastructure, your home phone will work through its cable network rather than the usual Openreach copper phone lines.

Virgin TV and broadband package deals

Virgin Media offers a range of TV packages that can be added to any broadband deal. These include its Big Bundle, which offers 100+ channels, as well as the Bigger Bundle, which ups the channel count to more than 195, including premium services such as Sky Showcase and a range of HD services.

In addition to this, you can add movies or sports packages from other providers to your deal, as Virgin Media offers the full range of Sky Cinema channels and a Sports package that gives you access to both Sky Sports and BT Sport.

The latest Virgin TV deals also come with the Virgin TV 360 set-top box, which offers the most advanced entertainment experience from Virgin yet.

As well as the usual pause, rewind and record options, you can also set up profiles to get personalised recommendations for each member of the household and start live broadcasts from the very beginning.

Streaming services on Virgin Media

Well established as a top-tier digital TV provider, Virgin Media also offers alternative ways to watch the best TV shows and films on-demand and via streaming services.

Stream from Virgin Media is a service that allows you to access all your streaming platforms through a single device, and if you pay via Virgin Media, you'll receive a bill credit worth 10% of the cost for each individual service you add.

For example, if you subscribe to Netflix (£10.99), Amazon Prime (£8.99) and Disney Plus (£7.99), you could get up to £34 of bill credit each year.

Virgin Media TV, broadband and phone deals

Virgin Media recently merged with O2, combining the lightning fast broadband offerings of Virgin with the nationwide mobile network of O2.

While Virgin Mobile was already a popular network, the merger and founding of VMO2 means that Virgin Media customers can bundle all their home phone, mobile phone, internet and TV services into one neat bundle and get a more comprehensive service than ever.

Virgin Media broadband only offers

If you're just looking for a fast way to get online, Virgin Media broadband is also available on its own, with no requirement to sign up for a Virgin phone line or TV deal.

However, check the cost of broadband-only compared to broadband with a phone line, as in some areas it might actually work out cheaper to get both.

What are the best Virgin internet deals?

The best Virgin Media internet packages are ones that match your needs the closest.

The majority of Virgin Media broadband connections offer much faster speeds than most other fibre broadband providers. So if you intend to join Virgin Media, you should know that its prices can be a little more expensive as a result (depending on the package you choose).

You can choose broadband speeds all the way up to 1.1Gbps with Virgin Media, but the monthly price of Virgin Media broadband deals will increase the faster you want your internet speed to be. That's why it's good to assess your household's internet usage and find a broadband speed that can handle your demand, but isn't significantly higher and more expensive as a result.

Take a look at our guide on broadband speeds to learn what package would be right for you and your household.

Can I get Virgin Media broadband?

While Virgin Media isn't as widely available as fibre broadband services that use Openreach's network, it is still available to around 56% of UK properties.

Use the Uswitch postcode checker to see if you can get Virgin Media in your local area.

Virgin broadband deals for existing customers

If you're already a customer of Virgin Media and want to upgrade your services, the company has lots of offers and deals available.

You can see what's on offer at the moment by logging into your account on the Virgin Media website. Just note that it pays to compare broadband deals from a range of providers when your contract comes to an end.

Virgin broadband offers for new customers

If you're not currently a Virgin Media customer, you can compare internet plans from the provider very easily. Depending on your availability, Virgin Media frequently has great internet packages for new customers, with users often able to get broadband-only connections for a very competitive price.

In addition to this, the provider sometimes runs limited-time flash sales where you can often get free gadgets such as games consoles or TVs, so it pays to keep an eye out for what's on offer at any given time.

Virgin Media student offers

If you're heading off to uni, Virgin Media also offers some dedicated student broadband deals.

These include exclusive 30-day rolling contract offers for its superfast broadband and phone packages that aren't available anywhere else. That's ideal if you're only going to need broadband for a shorter period.

Virgin Media social tariffs for low income households

Virgin Media offers an Essential broadband package to customers who receive Universal Credit or other forms of government financial help.

For £12.50 per month, customers will get a broadband-only connection of 15Mbps on a monthly rolling contract. So you will have the option to leave with just 30 days' notice without any exit fees, rather than having to wait until the end of a fixed-term period.

This package is also exempt from Virgin Media's annual price rises, so you won't have to deal with a more expensive bill every April.

Take a look at our guide on social broadband tariffs for low income families to browse affordable options for your home internet.

Virgin Media broadband speeds

Because Virgin Media uses its own dedicated fibre network, it's able to offer significantly faster speeds than many other broadband providers, similar to the full fibre speeds half of the country can now get.

Here are the speed options offered by Virgin Media.

M125 Fibre Broadband

On Uswitch, the slowest Virgin Media deal (which is still nearly double the average UK broadband speed) is its M125 fibre broadband package, with average download speeds of 132Mbps and average upload speeds of 20Mbps.

Virgin says this is best suited for busier households with between five and nine devices in constant use (especially if some of those are streaming video).

M250 Fibre Broadband

For larger homes where ten or more devices will need to connect to the internet at the same time, Virgin's M250 package offers average download speeds of 264Mbps and upload speeds of 25Mbps.

M350 Fibre Broadband

Customers with a very high amount of usage can take advantage of Virgin's M350 fibre broadband package, which offers average download speeds of 362Mbps and upload speeds of 36Mbps.

If you're a in a household of heavy internet users and you all want to stream in 4K on multiple devices and play competitive online games, this is the right package for you.

M500 Fibre Broadband

Finally, users with the most demand can enjoy ultrafast download speeds of up to 516Mbps, with equally impressive upload speeds of 36Mbps, on average.

It’d be pretty difficult to max out this incredibly fast package, but you may feel safer with it if you’re in a home with multiple power-users, where everyone is playing 4K video games and using large, demanding computer programmes on lots of devices each.

Gig1 Fibre broadband

After the provider upgraded its entire network to supply gigabit internet speeds (1000Mbps and above) last year, all Virgin Media customers can now benefit from the fastest broadband speeds available in the country.

Virgin Media Gig1 broadband's average download speed is 1130Mbps, and its average upload speed is 52Mbps.

It's almost impossible to for anyone to reach this speed limit right now, but it's more about future-proofing your home than what you can do with it at the present moment. As more home devices use up more internet in the coming decades, gigabit broadband will allow us to use them smoothly and seamlessly.

What's the Virgin Media broadband speed in my area?

Every home that can get a Virgin Media connection will have access to the same speed options. So your location won't impact the internet speed you can get from the provider.

Run a broadband speed test to see how your current internet speed compares to other broadband connections available in your area.

Virgin Media installation

Virgin Media works on a separate network to other providers. It plugs fibre-based 'coaxial' cables straight into people's homes from the local street cabinet, rather than the more traditional copper phone lines most internet connections use.

New customers will require Virgin Media to send an engineer to install the cable and get everything working. You can arrange this when you place your order.

However, homes that have had Virgin Media installed previously can use the firm's QuickStart self-install, which lets you get started in just a few simple steps.

Is there a Virgin Media installation charge?

Virgin Media deals sometimes come with an installation fee, but the majority of the time the provider doesn't charge to set up a connection at your home.

Virgin Media installation time

If you already have an existing Virgin Media connection at your home, you'll be able to use the QuickStart option.

On the day you've organised your new service to start, you'll receive all the equipment you need via courier or click and collect. QuickStart packs are usually sent within three working days for the UK mainland, or within four working days if you live in Northern Ireland.

Once you receive your QuickStart package, setup shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

If your home hasn't had Virgin Media installed before, you'll need to book an engineer visit. When signing up, you'll be able to choose your preferred date, usually within around 14 days. And once the engineer arrives, it should take between 30 minutes and two hours to get things up and running.

About your Virgin Media router

Virgin Media's Super Hub wireless router is the fastest and most advanced wireless router on offer from the provider. It's capable of connecting up to 20 devices at once with wireless speeds up to seven times faster than the UK average, depending on your package.

It takes advantage of the 5GHz frequency, which is more advanced and less congested than the 2.5GHz frequencies found on many other providers' included routers. This means you can game, stream and download wirelessly without worrying as much about slowdown.

How to set up your Virgin Media router

If you're using the QuickStart service, your Virgin Media router should be very easy to get up and running, as you'll just need to plug in a few cables. You can find specific steps for each model of router on the Virgin Media website.

Virgin Media internet protection

The provider offers a range of services to help keep your browsing safe, including advanced parental controls and tough anti-virus and anti-malware software.

Virgin Media Switched on Families

The provider's 'Switched on Families' suite of services helps ensure your family is safe online, whether this is at home or when you're out and about.

There's also an interactive guide on its website to help you understand the options available and how best you can protect your kids, whatever age they are and whatever content they want to view.

Virgin Media Web Safe

When you're at home, Virgin Media Web Safe protects any device that's connected to your network.

This can protect you when you're shopping online or using banking services by blocking fake and fraudulent sites, as well as protecting against viruses. It's included for free with all broadband packages.

Virgin Media F-Secure SAFE

F-Secure SAFE services extend protection to up to five devices, including mobile phones, tablets, PCs and Macs to keep you safe from viruses, fraudsters and theft wherever you are.

Virgin Media customers can get this free for the first three months of their contract, after which is costs just £3 a month (or £30 a year).

Virgin Media parental controls

Virgin Media's parental controls can be personalised to your needs, letting you block access to inappropriate websites or categories of content, as well as set limits on your kids’ screen time.

Virgin Media customer service

If you have any questions or issues with Virgin Media, or want to discuss your account, there are several ways you can do this.

Virgin Media customer service reviews

Virgin Media customers generally report above-average levels of satisfaction with the quality of their broadband and customer service, with research from Ofcom in April 2019 finding 85% of customers saying they're satisfied with the overall level of service, compared with 83% for the industry as a whole.

Contact Virgin Media customer service

There are a number of ways to contact Virgin Media customer service. In addition to a wide range of online FAQs, you can get assistance over the phone or via live web chat.

Virgin Media customer service number

Virgin Media customer service can be reached by phone on 0808 168 8217 from any number, of by dialling 1560 on a Virgin Media landline. Customer service agents are available from 8am until 9pm Monday to Friday, between 8am and 8pm on Saturdays, and from 8am until 6pm on Sundays.

Virgin Media customer service live chat

If you're experiencing an issue with your broadband, you can also contact the firm's live chat team Monday to Friday from 7am until 11pm, or 8am until 8pm on weekends. This service can be found on Virgin Media's website.