Virgin Media broadband

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media uses fibre optic cable technology to deliver superfast broadband, with speeds of up to 30Mb, 60Mb or 100Mb, depending on which package you choose.

As well as its innovative broadband packages, Virgin Media also offers digital TV, home phone deals, line rental, mobile phone contracts and mobile broadband - the widest range of products available from one provider.

For several years, industry watchdog Ofcom has found Virgin Media to be consistently one of the fastest broadband providers in the UK. Although other providers like BT Infinity also offer 100Mb broadband in certain areas, Virgin Media's up to 100Mb packages are available to a wider number of customers.

The Virgin Media broadband service

Using its cable network Virgin Media is able to deliver superfast broadband packages across the UK. It currently offers three different connection speeds - 30Mb, 60Mb and 100Mb. All come with 'unlimited broadband' downloads, although Virgin Media does manage web traffic at certain times of the day, limiting the speed of certain activities like filesharing to ensure that all customers get stable speeds.

Virgin Media owns its own cable network and uses it to deliver your broadband, so true standalone broadband packages are available where you don't even have to pay for line rental. You could save more than £160 per year on line rental with a broadband-only package from Virgin Media.

Alternatively, you can bundle their cable broadband with a range of other products, including home phone calls and line rental, digital TV, mobile broadband or a mobile phone contract.

Virgin Media's TV service offers up to 179 channels, depending on the package you choose. The company also supplies two set-top boxes - TiVo, which lets you pause, rewind and record live TV, and the V HD box, which lets you watch high-definition (HD) channels and access a range of on-demand content.

You can find out how Virgin Media customers rated their broadband service in our Virgin Media broadband customer reviews.

How fast is Virgin Media broadband?

Virgin Media provides some examples that demonstrate how its speeds work in practical terms:

With 30Mb broadband, you could download an album in around 18 seconds, a TV show in under two minutes, a feature film in five minutes and an HD movie in 20 mins.

With 60Mb broadband, at top speeds you can download a typical album in nine seconds, a TV show in under a minute, a film in around two and a half minutes and an HD movie in approximately 10 minutes.

A 100Mb broadband connection would let you download an album in six seconds, download an episode of a TV show in half a minute, download a film in one and a half minutes and that film in HD in just six minutes.

It's worth noting that this is a very rough guide - as with any broadband provider, the speeds you actually get may not be as high as those advertised. Even so, you should be able to experience decent download speeds regardless of the package you choose or where you live, as long as you are within Virgin Media's cable network area.

What Virgin Media package is right for me?

Virgin Media uses fibre optic cables to deliver its broadband, so the actual speed customers receive are close to the 'up to' speeds advertised.

All broadband options are superfast (Ofcom defines this as more than 24Mb), but the heavier a downloader you are, the more you'll benefit from the faster packages.

If you only make moderate use of the internet, Virgin Media's 30Mb broadband connection is likely to be sufficient for your needs. That's more than enough for catching up with the news online, posting status updates on Facebook, writing emails and streaming the odd programme on BBC iPlayer.

Up to 60Mb and 100Mb broadband will work better for you if you download a lot, are an avid gamer or want blisteringly quick downloads. Faster broadband speeds can also make watching HD TV online more enjoyable.

You should also think about how many people will be sharing your connection - if you have a large family, or live in a student house, faster speeds will mean no one's connection suffers if more of you are online at the same time.

Virgin Media broadband benefits

Faster broadband speeds are a big attraction when it comes to Virgin Media, allowing customers to download music and movies very quickly.

As well as superfast downloads, Virgin Media's broadband packages come with some nice extras, including security tools, a PC health check application to keep your computer running well, and an email service.

About Virgin Media National broadband

Virgin Media's (www.VirginMedia.com) National broadband service offers Virgin Media broadband through your copper wire phone line, meaning that even if you don't live in one of the provider's cable areas, you'll still be able to sign up to one of its broadband packages or home phone and broadband bundles.

However, you won't be able to sign up to its superfast broadband packages, as these speeds are only available over its cable network.

Virgin Media deals and offers

See our guide for all the latest deals from Virgin Media.

Virgin Media awards & accreditations

• Winner - Broadband speed in the broadbandchoices 2012 Customer Satisfaction Awards.
• Highly commended- Quality & reliability, Speed of activation, Online security features in the broadbandchoices 2012 Customer Satisfaction Awards.
• Highly commended - Quality & reliability, Speed, Speed of activation in the 2011 broadbandchoices Customer Satisfaction Awards.
• Highly commended - Overall customer satisfaction in the broadbandchoices 2011 Customer Satisfaction Awards.
• Finalist - Best Consumer Fixed Broadband - ISPA awards 2011

Our expert's verdict

Michael Phillips, managing director of broadbandchoices said: "Virgin Media is definitely one of the fastest way to get online and it often comes out on top when it comes to download speeds. It's also a great option if you want to bundle broadband, phone and TV together.

"However, Virgin Media's cable network doesn't cover the whole UK, and some packages may not be available in some parts of the country, particularly rural areas."