Virgin Media VIP Standard Broadband Bundle

Review of Virgin Media VIP Standard

STOP PRESS! You can get this package for £49 a month as a Special Offer (ends 30/06/08). Read more, and sign up, here.

IT may be hard to justify paying this much for broadband bundle, but adding up what you get for your money, it probably works out a lot cheaper than what you're paying for all these elements independently.

So this is what it's like to be one of Branson's VIPs?

You get broadband (size XL), TV (size XL)and phone (size XL) and more. With all these XL's, you'd think you were in an American t-shirt store.

20Mb broadband

The Virgin Media Broadband XL package gives you cheek-jiggling speeds of up to 20Mb with no download limits as well as email, webspace and a very good security suite.

Since this is a cable package there is a one off £30 setup fee, but remember that no line rental is required when you go with Virgin Media, so you'll effectively be saving yourself £11.75 a month from the get-go.

Unlimited anytime phonecalls

The home phone size XL package gives you unlimited calls to UK landlines at any time.

You also get Virgin's reduced rate Talk International and Talk Mobile offers which give much cheaper rates to international landlines and UK mobiles respectively.

Full monty TV package

The included XL TV package is the full monty - and then some! You get Virgin Central (Virgin's very cool, on-demand TV channel), as well as 145 digital TV channels, which includes 7 Setanta Sports channels.

Not enough for you?

You also get free access to Sky Sports & Movies premium channel and Virgin's Sky+-beating V+ box (yes, we feel it really is better than Sky+).

Remember that you will need to be in Virgin's cable-supported area in order to get this package. This is checked live, online when you sign up for the package.

	Virgin Media VIP Standard is currently offering £30 off your first bill when you sign up online.

A little more detail

Broadband

			Special Note..	Any good?
Package Name:		Size: XL	-
Connection Type:		Cable	-
Max Speed:		20Mb	-
Usage Limit:		Unlimited	Fair use policy applies
Hardware:		Modem	-
Anti-virus Protection:		Yes	Part of PCGuard Total package (which includes PCguard features as well as extra Anti-Spyware, Identify Theft Protection and Parental Control features)
Firewall:		Yes	Part of PCGuard Total package (which includes PCguard features as well as extra Anti-Spyware, Identify Theft Protection and Parental Control features)
E-mail Account:		Yes	Up to 15 email addresses
Webspace Provided:		Yes	55MB of webspace
Domain Included:		No	-
Backup Dialup:		Yes	0845 dial backup
Consoles Supported:		All major consoles supported	-

Home Phone

Package Name:		Size: XL
UK Weekend Tariff:		Free to UK landlines
UK Evening Tariff:		Free to UK landlines
UK Peak Tariff:		Free to UK landlines
International Tariff:		Lower international rates with Talk International (£1.50 per month)

TV

Package Name:		Size: XL
Included Channels:		Over 145 digital channels including 2 Setanta Sports channels, Nickleodeon, The Disney Channel and FX.
Optional Channel Add-ons:		Add SkyMovies and/or Sky Sports for an additional monthly fee (from £15)
Video on Demand:		Yes, free TV on demand but films incur a fee
Pay Per View:		Music vids, films and live sports events
Record TV / TV Hard Drive:		Yes (requires £150 installation fee)
Hardware:
Extras:

Payment, Installation and Contract

Payment Method(s):		Direct Debit + Paperless Billing only (other payment methods incur a £5 charge + £1 for paper billing)
Activation Fee:		Free
Installation:		From £30
Minimum Contract:		12 months
Line Rental:		No line rental required
Support:		Free (from Virgin Media phone, otherwise 0845 local rate)

Actual User Ratings

At a Glance

Our Rating
Max Speed	20Mb
Usage Limit	Unlimited
Monthly Price	£85.00
Set Up Cost	£30.00
Min. Contract	12 months

	Bundle details:
	Phone: Unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines
	TV: Over 145 digital TV channels
	Mobile: Not included

	It is best suited for:
	The elite web user looking for a top end bundle package of TV, phone and broadband.

Customer Reviews

Add your own review of Virgin Media broadband...

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."