Review of Virgin Media Broadband Plan 3
- Cheap 1MB unlimited broadband
- Suitable if you are outside of the Virgin Media cable area
- Free wireless router if you sign up online
- PCGuard security suite
- Set-top Freeview box for £40
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BEFORE Richard Branson's Virgin Media hoovered up NTL's cable network, Virgin was still offering non-cable broadband to a small, but happy group of customers. This Virgin Media Broadband Plan 3 is the old Virgin 1Mb package, and we're thrilled to see it's still around.
For a reasonaby low monthly fee you'll get Virgin Media's unlimited up to 1Mb broadband as well as a free wireless router if you sign up online.
You can also add a Virgin Media set-top Freeview box for an extra £40 which is yours to keep so long as you stick out the entire minimum term of the contract.
The Virgin Media Broadband Plan 3 package comes equipped with some good security software including a firewall, anti-virus and privacy manager.
If you are willing to switch your line rental provider over to Virgin Media, we'd thoroughly recommend opting for the 'Unlimited Broadband & Talk Bundle 2' which is identical to this package but gives you 8Mb speed instead of 1Mb, and free weekend and evening calls to UK landlines.
A little more detail
Broadband
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Special Note.. |
Any good? |
| Package Name: |
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Plan 3 |
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| Connection Type: |
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ADSL |
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| Max Speed: |
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1Mb |
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| Usage Limit: |
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Unlimited |
Fair use policy applies |
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| Hardware: |
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Wireless router |
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| Anti-virus Protection: |
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Yes |
Part of PCGuard package (which also includes Firewall, Pop-Up Blocker and Privacy Manager) |
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| Firewall: |
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Yes |
Part of PCGuard package (which also includes Firewall, Pop-Up Blocker and Privacy Manager) |
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| E-mail Account: |
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Yes |
Up to 5 email addresses |
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| Webspace Provided: |
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Yes |
10MB of webspace |
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| Domain Included: |
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No |
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| Backup Dialup: |
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Yes |
0845 dial backup |
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| Consoles Supported: |
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All major consoles supported |
It is not recommened to use such a low speed broadband connection for online gaming, but it can be done. |
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Payment, Installation and Contract
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| Payment Method(s): |
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Direct Debit only (all other methods incur a £5 charge) |
| Activation Fee: |
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£15 |
| Installation: |
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Free |
| Minimum Contract: |
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12 months |
| Line Rental: |
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BT line rental required |
| Support: |
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25p per minute technical support |
Actual User Ratings
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At a Glance
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Bundle details: |
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Phone: Not included |
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TV: Not included |
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Mobile: Not included |
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It is best suited for: |
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Anyone outside of the Virgin Media cable area who still want to enjoy Virgin's low priced, unlimited broadband. |
Customer Reviews
Remember, the customer reviews below are subjective (and are not the opinions of ChooseISP.co.uk).
John from glasgow writes... 14/05/2008 "Since Virgin have taken over from NTL they've taken a flawfless service and ran it straight in to the ground. I live right beside an exchange so in theory I should be getting fairly close to 4Mb, I'm lucky to get 2 most days. Also lately at any point from 4-12 streaming any type of media results in the connection dropping and sometimes taking 15+ minutes to reconnect. Until they get their act together avoid Virgin."
Martin from London writes... 12/10/2007 "Signed up for Virgin Media XL Broadband 20Mb. I don't even get 1Mb most times, usually lower. The customer service is extremely poor and they are all based in India. There is no email based support, only 25p/min tech number."
Gareth Snow from Worthing writes... 03/10/2007 "We recently had broadband, telephone and also TV installed from Virgin Media and they were excellent. Really good value for money. Also we have Virgin Media's V+ service which is superb!"
S.J. from Manchester writes... 08/09/2007 "When Virgin Media was still Telewest it was great. Now the XL package is £37/month, with fair use policy introduced, the speeds are not consistent and the upload speed is ridiculous for todays isp's. The once free tech help is now 25p/min with 10p connection charge (to India!!). If I had a BT line I would try another broadband provider."
Jason Hines from Epsom writes... 12/08/2007 "So far so very good. I signed up to the VirginMedia 3 for £30 bundle in April and so far have been amazed. I had heard bad stories but took the risk as they offer a moneyback guarantee. Thankfully I never had to use it. I still find it amazing that I get all this for £30. Highly recommended."
Hazel Wykes from Birmingham writes... 11/08/2007 "We thought we'd give Virgin Media a try just to see how it compared but were so dissatified with it, that we changed back to BT. We are now on BT Total Broadband Option 3. Its top class, everything about it is excellent. It beats Virgin Media all round."
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