The Ultimate Virgin Media Broadband Deals Guide

Virgin Media is one of the UK's leading communication services providers and offers broadband, pay TV, and home and mobile phone options. While many other providers supply broadband using the Openreach network, Virgin Media takes a different approach. Virgin's services are provided through its dedicated fibre-optic network, allowing it to offer some of the fastest speeds in the country. According to the latest figures, Virgin Media has 5.6 million broadband subscribers, giving the company just over 20% of the UK market. *

* https://www.choose.co.uk/broadband/guide/market-share/

What Can Virgin Media Offer You?

Types of Virgin Media Broadband Packages

While Virgin Media offers some of the fastest speeds available, its services aren't as widely available as some other providers. There are two primary fibre optic broadband networks in Britain - Openreach and Virgin Media. Openreach's network (used by the other providers) covers around 95% of the UK, while Virgin Media's covers 60%-75% of UK premises (figures vary depending on the source).

However, Virgin Media continues to dedicate significant effort to expanding its network, so even if it's not currently available in your area, it may be soon. So, if Virgin Media is available in your area, what packages are available to you?

Virgin Media offers a range of packages that include various options like Broadband and phone, hundreds of TV channels, Sky Sports, BT Sport, Sky Cinema, Netflix, and more. Let's take a look at the broadband-only offerings.

M50 Fibre Broadband

M50 is Virgin Media's entry-level fibre broadband service and is best suited to households that use 3-5 devices at a time. M50 offers average download speeds of 54Mbps and average upload speeds of 5Mbps.

M100 Fibre Broadband

On the next level up, we have M100, Virgin Media's most popular fibre broadband plan. It's excellent for households using up to 9 devices at a time and offers an average download speed of 108Mbps. With an average speed of 108Mbps, you can watch HD video on up to 20 devices or ultra-HD on four devices at the same time.

M200 Fibre Broadband

M200 is designed for households with avid internet users. Household members might use more than 10 devices and like to game, stream in 4K, and video chat at the same time. It sports an average download speed of 213Mbps (20x faster than the UK average for broadband.)

M350 Fibre Broadband

M350 fibre broadband offers average download speeds of 362Mbps and upload speeds of 35Mbps. So if multiple household members like to stream in 4K, play games online, and hold daily video calls from the home office simultaneously, M350 could be a good option.

M500 Fibre Broadband

M500 offers a super fast and strong internet connection with average download speeds of 516Mbps. It's ideal for large households that may have over 25 devices online at the same time.

Gig1 Fibre Broadband

Gig1 is Virgin Media's lightning-fast option with average download speeds of 1,130Mbps. It's made for households that need to download large files, do serious online gaming and stream content in 4K. Gig1 is currently the fastest broadband on the market widely available to UK customers.

Volt Packages (Virgin Media and O2)

You may have missed it, but in June of 2021, the two telecom giants, Virgin Media and O2, joined forces to become Virgin Media O2 (VMO2). Virgin Media and O2 still have separate consumer websites and branding, but they have introduced their joint venture packages, Volt. Volt offers exclusive benefits, for example, double data on eligible O2 Pay Monthly plans and a broadband speed boost through Virgin Media. Volt Virgin Media customers can also get rewards through the Priority app from O2, including a free cinema ticket each week.

Why Pick Virgin Media Broadband?

The Latest Technology

As the only UK provider to have its own street-level network, Virgin Media is in a unique position when it comes to rolling out the latest broadband technology. Other providers are at the mercy of Openreach's plans for technological expansion, which may be slower than they like.

So, Virgin Media has more opportunities to deploy the latest technology than other ISPs, but what are they doing with this opportunity? Well, quite a bit. In recent years the company has invested heavily in DOCSIS 3.1 technology, allowing customers to access 1152 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload speeds. And in December of 2021, Virgin Media announced DOCSIS 3.1 (their Gigabit option) is now available to all of their customers. And they're not stopping there. Virgin Media are currently working on trials for 2.2Gbps, offering speeds more than 34 times the current UK average.

Moreover, Virgin Media has achieved 'superfast' broadband connections across its network by leveraging coaxial cables. Coaxial cables, sometimes called coax cables, are a type of copper cable specially equipped with a metal shield and other components that allow it to carry high-frequency eclectic signals while minimising losses. Coaxial cables are a significant upgrade to traditional copper, allowing for much faster speeds while being more affordable.

Lastly, Virgin Media's fibre packages come with its Hub 4 or Hub 5 routers, some of the best routers on the market. The Hub 5 is also the first ISP router to support WiFi 6, the next generation of WiFi.

Lightning Fast Speeds

High-speed internet is Virgin Media's primary focus. So if your priority is getting the fastest broadband speed available, Virgin Media should be on your shortlist.

Virgin Media's Installation Process

Depending on where you live and the type of broadband you want, Virgin Media will either offer you a QuickStart kit (its self-install option) or send one of their engineers to help with the installation process. If you need an engineer, you can choose the date and time slot of the installation when you place your order.

Virgin Media FAQs

Are there any drawbacks to consider with Virgin Media?

According to Ofcom's latest report, the average customer service call wait time is 3:45, which, while lower than in previous years, is still higher than the majority of other big providers. *

* https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/237639/comparing-customer-service-report-2022.pdf

What does Virgin Media broadband cost?

Virgin Media offers 18-month contracts at a variety of price points. For example, you can get an M50 fibre broadband (broadband only) package for £38 a month, M100 for £44 a month, M200 for £50 a month, M350 for £56 a month, and M500 for £62 a month. Curiously, it's a little cheaper, at £60 a month, to get Gig1 fibre broadband. You'll also find that the Virgin Media bundles offer broadband plus additional services and are often cheaper than the broadband-only options, at least for the first contract period. Likewise, it's often cheaper to get the M100 packages than the M50 ones. So, you might consider getting a bundle even if you're most attracted to the broadband-only option.

What is Virgin Media's usage allowance?

Virgin Media offers unlimited usage across all of its broadband plans.

What is Virgin Media Essential Broadband?

While M50 is the slowest speed broadband available to most customers (and still faster than the base plans of other competitors), Virgin Media do offer one other package to a limited set of customers. Called Essential Broadband, this package provides reliable 15Mbps fibre broadband to people on Universal Credit for £15 a month and on a 30-day rolling contract.