Virgin Media Broadband

Virgin Media key features

• Offers the most widely available ultrafast broadband network in the UK, with speeds of over 500 Mbps available.
• Packages are available without a landline, should calls not interest you.
• Among the best TV selections of any broadband provider - on a par with Sky and BT.
• One of the few providers that offers quadruple play packages, that include broadband, TV, mobile, and line rental.

What services do Virgin Media offer?

Virgin Media provides some of the fastest widely available broadband services in the country.

They manage the second largest broadband network in the UK, after Openreach, providing a viable alternative to most other ISPs who usually offer the same speeds/services as each other.

Virgin Media offers quite a range of different products, including:

• Broadband
• TV
• Mobile

They are one of the few providers that offers quadruple play, which means you can bundle in broadband with Virgin TV , a Virgin mobile contract, and line rental.

Read on to find out a bit more about what the different services and bundles available from Virgin. For more of an in-depth analysis of the service they provide, check out our Virgin Media broadband review.

What packages do Virgin Media offer?

Whereas, the likes of Sky, BT and Talktalk all use the Openreach network to provide internet connection, Virgin build and maintain their own set of cables, allowing them to provide much faster connection. Top speeds reach 516Mbps, while their standard fibre packages sit between 54-362Mbps depending on availability.

In total, Virgin Media currently offers five tiers of broadband package: M50, M100, M200, M350, and M500:

M50 Fibre Broadband

This is Virgin Media’s entry-level broadband package, but unlike most other providers’ baseline deals, this is not an ADSL connection. This fibre deal provides average download speeds of 54Mbps, and an average upload speed of 5Mbps. These speeds should suffice for medium-sized households of internet users.

 

M100 Fibre Broadband

Virgin Media’s next best package provides impressive average download speeds of 108Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps. These speeds should be enough for households of around 5internet users who like to stream or play online games simultaneously.

 

M200 Fibre Broadband

Offering average download speeds of 213Mbps and an upload speed of 20Mbps, this ultrafast broadband package will provide enough speed for a large household of up to 10 internet users.

 

M350

This package offers average download speeds of 362Mbps and upload speeds of 36Mbps. This package will support large households of heavy internet users - those who regularly download and play online games or stream HD or 4K content.

 

M500

Virgin Media’s fastest fibre connection before entering gigabit territory, this package offers average download speeds of 516Mbps and upload speeds of 36Mbps. This deal should be suitable for even the largest households of heavy internet users.  

 

Gig1

This is currently Virgin Media's fastest broadband package, offering market-leading average download speeds of 1,130Mbps, while its average upload speeds of 52Mbps isn't too shabby either. With these sorts of speeds, nobody in your household should ever experience slow or jittery internet, whether they're streaming, video calling, or gaming, no matter how big your family is. 

 

It is worth keeping in mind that Virgin’s upload speeds tend to be slower than its competitors.  TalkTalk’s most basic fibre-optic package promises upload speeds of 9.5Mbps, whereas Virgin’s is only 5Mbps.  This isn’t a deal breaker for most, but if you upload a lot of content, such as long videos, then it is definitely worth considering your options.

Virgin Media Contract lengths

To get the best deals from Virgin, you'll need to take out an 18-month contract. But if you need something less committal, and are willing to spend a little more each month, you can get most of Virgin's broadband packages on 30-day rolling contracts.

Rolling contracts are a great idea if you're coming to the end of a tenancy, or if you're a student who won't necessarily be in the same house for the full 18 months.

Bear in mind that an £80 upfront fee applies as standard for Virgin Media's rolling contracts, and you'll be paying around 40% more each month than you would on an 18-month plan.

Which Virgin Media bundle is best for me?

Virgin Media's fibre broadband is attractive enough by itself - it's hard to beat in terms of price and speed. However where Virgin really comes into its own is with its range of bundle deals, with a range of broadband and TV packages and mobile phone deals available in whatever combination suits you.

Virgin Media Big Bundle

• Available with either M50 54Mbps or M100 108Mbps broadband connection
• Inclusive weekend calls
• 112+ TV channels
• Virgin TV V6 box

Find out more: Virgin Big Bundle 

Virgin Media Bigger Bundle

Available with M100 108Mbps or M200 213Mbps broadband connection

210+ channels

Find out more: Virgin Bigger Bundle 

Both of the above can be supplemented with extra channel packages, including:

• + Movies
• + Drama & Docs
• + Sports

Virgin Media Volt Bundles

For customers who want it all, Virgin Media's Volt bundles combine superfast broadband, Virgin TV packages, and mobile plans from O2, all in a single tariff. They come in three sizes:

Big Volt Bundle

• M200 213Mbps broadband connection
• 105+ TV Channels
• Virgin Mobile SIM with unlimited mins and texts and 5GB data

Bigger Volt Bundle

• M200 213Mbps broadband connection
• 210+ TV Channels

Ultimate Volt Bundle

The Ultimate Volt Bundle is for those who really want to push the boat out, and starts at £89 a month. It comes with:

• M500 516Mbps broadband connection
• 250+ TV Channels
• Inclusive anytime calls
• Virgin Mobile SIM with unlimited mins and texts and unlimited data

Is Virgin Media broadband available where I live?

Virgin Media's fibre broadband services are currently available to around 53% of UK homes, and there are plans to roll out to another 4 million homes across the UK in the near future.* To find out whether Virgin is available to you, put your postcode in at the top of this page to see what services you can access.

* Information taken from Virgin Media's website. Correct as of 02/07/2021

When will my area get Virgin Media services?

Virgin are constantly expanding their coverage area, and so it's worth checking every now and then to see if they've reached where you live. You can sign up for email updates on the Virgin Media website and you'll be notified when they become available in your local area.

How do Virgin compare to other providers?

As they use their own proprietary network that is separate to that of Openreach (the network that most other ISPs in the UK make use of), they are compared with other providers quite a bit as their internet connection offering is fundamentally quite different to that of other providers (whereas, most other provider's deals will be very similar from a speed point of view).

To settle things, we have carried out a couple of comparisons between Virgin Media and two of its main competitors, Sky and BT:

BT vs Virgin Media broadband: Which provider is better? | usave.co.uk

Sky vs Virgin Media broadband: Which provider is better? | usave.co.uk

Frequently asked questions about Virgin Media

Our latest Virgin Media Broadband deals

• Virgin Media M50 Fibre Broadband Only

  18 month contract

  • Average speed: 54Mb / second
  • Usage: Unlimited

  £38.00 / month

  View deal
• Virgin Media M100 Fibre Broadband Only

  18 month contract

  • Average speed: 108Mb / second
  • Usage: Unlimited

  £44.00 / month

  View deal
• Virgin Media M200 Fibre Broadband Only

  18 month contract

  • Average speed: 213Mb / second
  • Usage: Unlimited

  £50.00 / month

  View deal
• Virgin Media M350 Fibre Broadband Only

  18 month contract

  • Average speed: 362Mb / second
  • Usage: Unlimited

  £56.00 / month

  View deal