Virgin Media were already the fastest of the big broadband providers, but since the 1st of October they've become even faster! With the introduction of the new hybrid fibre-coaxial VIVID packages, Virgin Media customers can enjoy download speeds of up to 200Mb!
The speed difference compared to fibre-to-the-cabinet competitors is thanks to Virgin Media's DOCSIS 3 technology. Their insulated coaxial cable houses a thicker copper core and is run directly into your home. This means that there's much less signal loss than there is over the copper phone lines used by most fibre broadband providers, so the speeds you can get are much faster and you won't experience slowdowns with distance from Virgin's street cabinets. The launch of VIVID sees tweaks to the protocol and technology used to get even more speed out of Virgin's existing hybrid fibre-coaxial network.
Interested? Why not use our postcode checker to see if you can get Virgin Media in your area, then check out the following better than half price deals!
Want to add a Virgin Media TV package, currently reduced in price for 9 months? VIVID Big Bundles start from only £19.99 a month. The Big Bang package comes with 130+ channels and VIVID 100. If you want the faster VIVID 200 speeds, then the Big Kahuna bundles come with over 230 channels, while the Big Daddy has over 260!
Existing customers can also benefit from the faster speeds with the option to opt into a speed increase rolling out between the 1st of October and June 2016, with 90% of customers expected to have the option available by the end of 2015. Customers on slower speed tiers are also expected to see a boost in upload speeds.
Looking for a cheaper Virgin Media package or standalone broadband without phone or TV bundled in? Explore the rest of the packages that Virgin Media have on offer!
Broadband discount offers for new customers only. Time limited introductory offers. Products only available in Virgin Media cabled streets - use our postcode checker to find out if this is available in your area. £49.95 set-up fee applies to standalone broadband packages. Line rental required for phone and TV bundles at £16.99 a month, or £164 for a year up front.
March 2015 saw average download speeds recorded by users of our Broadband Speed Test drop slightly by 0.32Mb in comparison to the results from February, coming in at 21.11Mb. Average upload speeds remained stable at 4.22Mb.
Virgin Media's average download speeds dropped by a further 1.29Mb to 39.69Mb, with upload speeds remaining stable at 5.34Mb. BT Broadband hold second place with average download and upload speeds remaining stable at 19.85Mb and 5.81Mb. Plusnet remain in third place, with download speeds taking a 1.15Mb hit down to 14.59Mb with a 0.29Mb increase to 5.08Mb for average upload speeds. TalkTalk stay in fourth place, with download speeds increasing by 0.78Mb to 14.26Mb and upload speeds holding stable at 1.76Mb. Finally, Sky are in fifth place with a 0.57Mb decrease to download speeds, putting them at 12.8Mb, with upload speeds falling slightly to 3.24Mb.
February 2015 saw average download speeds recorded by users of our Broadband Speed Test drop by 0.48Mb in comparison to the results from January, coming in at 21.43Mb. Average upload speeds saw a 0.23Mb increase to 4.32Mb.
Virgin Media's average download speeds dropped again by 0.63Mb to 40.98Mb, with upload speeds remaining stable at 5.5Mb. BT Broadband remain second place with average download speeds dropping by 0.53Mb to 19.87Mb, though upload speeds increased by 0.29Mb to 5.97Mb. Plusnet hold third place, remaining stable at 15.74Mb for average download speeds with a 0.38Mb increase to 4.78Mb for average upload speeds. TalkTalk are also stable in fourth place, with download speeds at 13.22Mb and upload speeds at 1.75Mb. Finally, Sky are in fifth place with a strong 1.34Mb increase to download speeds, putting them at 13.37Mb, with upload speeds increased by 0.49Mb to 3.44Mb.
January 2015 saw average download speeds recorded by users of our Broadband Speed Test drop by 0.75Mb in comparison to the results from December, coming in at 21.91Mb. Average upload speeds remained stable at 4.09Mb.
Virgin Media's average download speeds have fallen by 1.95Mb over last month to 41.61Mb, with upload speeds remaining stable at 5.45Mb. BT Broadband hold second place with average download and upload speeds remaining stable at 20.35Mb and 5.68Mb respectively. Plusnet are in third place, remaining stable after the significant drop in speeds last month at 14.58Mb for average download speeds and 4.41Mb for average upload speeds. TalkTalk remain in fourth place, with speeds increasing by 0.64Mb to 13.22Mb and upload speeds remaining stable at 1.88Mb. Finally, Sky are in fifth place with 12.03Mb download speeds, comparable to their speeds from last month.
December 2014 saw average download speeds recorded by users of our Broadband Speed Test rise by 0.43Mb in comparison to the results from November, coming in at 22.65Mb. Average upload speeds remained stable at 4.01Mb.
Virgin Media's average download speeds have increased by 1.42Mb over last month to 43.56Mb, with upload speeds rising a little to 5.42Mb. BT Broadband remain in second place with average download speeds of 20.6Mb (increasing by 0.37Mb over last month) and upload speeds of 5.82Mb. Plusnet remain in third place, but with a significant 3.93Mb drop to 14.53Mb for average download speeds, and a 1.56Mb decrease to 4.04Mb for average upload speeds. TalkTalk move up to fourth place, with speeds increasing by 0.33Mb to 12.57Mb and upload speeds remaining stable at 1.71Mb. Sky drop down to fifth place with 12.15Mb download speeds, a small 0.36Mb decrease in speed since last month.
November 2014 saw average download speeds recorded by users of our Broadband Speed Test drop 0.62Mb in comparison to the results from October, coming in at 22.23Mb. Average upload speeds remained stable at 3.94Mb.
Virgin Media's average download speeds have decreased by 2.65Mb over last month to 42.14Mb, with upload speeds dropping a little to 5.32Mb. BT Broadband remain in second place with download speeds averaging at 20.23Mb (a drop of 0.69Mb over last month) and upload speeds of 5.23Mb. Plusnet holds third place with a minor 0.23Mb decrease to 18.46b for average download speeds, but a 0.72Mb increase to 5.6Mb for average upload speeds. Sky came in fourth place with 12.5Mb download speeds, a small decrease in speed since last month. Meanwhile, TalkTalk remain in fifth place, but are the only ISP in the top five to see an increase in download speeds, going up by 1.38Mb to 12.24Mb with upload speeds remaining stable at 1.52Mb.
It's the battle of the broadband brands as several ISPs compete to offer the biggest and best discounts and rewards over the Black Friday / Cyber Monday long weekend! Check out the offers where you live using our availability checker, or browse the list of sale promotions below. But hurry, these offers are for one long weekend only and expire at midnight on Monday the 1st of December!
Just take a 12 month contract and pay for line rental and router delivery and your first year of Plusnet up to 17Mb truly unlimited broadband is FREE. What's more you get £75 cashback meaning you actually make back £69 over the first year! Unlike some of the offers below, this one's available regardless of where you live, not just in low cost areas!
If you're new to Sky, when you sign up for a TV bundle now you get up to half price Sky TV for a year plus your choice of reward from one of £100 of Amazon or M&S vouchers, a Samsung Galaxy Tab or a Spaced360 bluetooth speaker worth £250 RRP!
What's more, if you add Sky Movies to your bundle, you'll get the upgrade for 6 months half price and you'll also qualify for 12 month free truly unlimited broadband!
New BT customers can nab truly unlimited broadband for only £5 per month for up to 17Mb phoneline broadband and £10 a month for upto 38Mb BT Infinity fibre! Prices go up after a year, but they're on a special 12 month contract so you're free to switch.
No only that but you'll get Sainsbury's gift cards - £50 worth for phoneline and £100 worth for Infinity - that can be spent in Sainsbury's stores or online!
Sign up for any of Virgin Media's Big Bundles of cable TV, fibre optic broadband and telephone calling over this long weekend and get 12 months reduced price, 6 month of free Netflix - even if you already have a subscription - and a reward ranging from £50 to £100 of account credit.
Big Bundles come with Virgin Media's TiVo box that can record 3 channels while watching another already recorded!
Meanwhile there are also competitive ongoing offers from TalkTalk, Fuel, Tesco, EE and Hyperoptic meaning it's still worth comparing broadband to see if there's a better offer where you live or for your particular needs.
Offers only available to new customers ordering online and may only apply to particular bundles and contract lengths. Line rental required for all offers, see provider site for details. Rewards and cashback may need to be applied for separately once you're connected to the service. Offer prices are introductory and may rise after the offer period expires. Delivery and installation fees may apply. Broadband speed, availability and pricing can depend on where you live and how far you are from your telephone exchange or fibre street cabinet. Some offers only available if you live in the provider's low cost network area. Full details of restrictions should be provided before you sign up.
As the top broadband speeds increase, new marketing terms like ultrafast, hyperfast and gigabit broadband are becoming commonplace. We understand how confusing terms like this can be, especially when most broadband buzzwords all seem to be another way of saying 'very fast', so we've produced a new guide to ultrafast and hyperfast broadband that should help to answer all your questions.
More people than ever can enjoy ultrafast broadband speeds as Virgin Media's ultrafast 120Mb broadband increases in speed to up to 152Mb, double that of most fibre to the cabinet services. Virgin Media's mid-range formerly up to 60Mb service is now also increased to 100Mb, making it the most affordable ultrafast broadband on the market. Ultrafast deals start from £12.50 per month for the first 6 months.
Meanwhile hyperfast broadband provider Hyperoptic has started to install their gigabit fibre to the building services outside of London, with select apartment buildings now activated in Bristol, Cardiff and Reading. These join over 250 postcode areas already hooked up in London, with more added every day. Hyperoptic offer the UK's fastest broadband at up to 1Gb (or 1000Mb) making this a truly hyperfast service, what's more their connections are symmetric offering the same speed regardless of whether you're downloading or uploading. You can sign up for a gigabit service for only £25 per month for the first 6 months.
If you're not sure whether Virgin Media or Hyperoptic's services are available in your area, our broadband checker will tell you if either are serving your postcode and will allow you to compare their prices and features with other broadband suppliers.
All prices quoted are introductory offers that require montlhy line rental. Hyperoptic charge £12.50 for line rental and Virgin Media £15.99. All services mentioned are also available without any telephone line installed at your home. Hyperoptic charges £40 for setup, or more if your home doesn't have a faceplate preinstalled. Virgin Media is currently offering free installation as a limited offer.
March 2014 saw the national average download speeds recorded by users of our Broadband Speed Test surpass 20Mb for the first time, with most providers seeing a healthy speed increase and a 3.53Mb rise overall, bringing the UK average speed to 20.63Mb. Average upload speeds also saw an increase, rising by 0.39Mb to 3.45Mb overall.
Virgin Media's average download speeds increased significantly over the previous month, rising by 4.94Mb, and they retain first place at the top of the speed table at 38.19Mb. Upload speeds were also up by 0.44Mb averaging at 4.14Mb.
Early last month Virgin launched their boost from up to 120Mb to 152Mb, from up to 60Mb to 100Mb and from up to 30Mb to 50Mb, which has undoubtedly contributed to their average download speed increases. While the boost was initially for new customers only, these average speed increases are set to continue as Virgin roll out the higher speeds to existing customers over the next year, with customers in several areas already enjoying the boost.
BT Broadband came in second place on the speed table, with a download speed increase of 2.13Mb taking them to an average speed of 22.33Mb. BT also saw an upload speed increase of 0.56Mbps, with uploads now averaging higher than Virgin at 5.47Mb, in part thanks to the higher upload speed of BT Infinity 2 compared to Virgin's maximum.
EE have taken third place, overtaking both Plusnet and Sky with average download speeds of 14.21Mb (an impressive 4.55Mb increase over last month).
EE have started traffic shaping to prioritise web and streaming traffic, allowing them to last month announce a new headline speed of up to 17Mb. At least 10% of their customers have to be able to achieve this speed in order for them to advertise it, making them faster than any other standard UK phoneline broadband supplier! We're currently running an exclusive £70 Amazon gift voucher offer with EE that stacks with their reduced price offers. It's a limited offer for this week only, so hurry to take advantage of it!
While Plusnet have dropped into fourth place, their average download speeds have actually improved by 1.47Mb, taking them to 14.13Mb. Similarly, Sky have dropped to fifth place, but have a 0.86Mbps increase in download speeds, averaging at 11.2Mb. As spring arrives with sunnier weekends and brighter evenings, we'll likely see further small increases across all providers as peak time congestion from video services reduces due to more people en. The availability of higher speed fibre services also continues to roll out to more exchanges.
Three of Virgin Media's top triple play broadband, phone and TV collections now come with an extra £50 to £100 off.
The Essential Collection offering up to 30Mb broadband, Talk Weekends and 80+ TV channels with 500GB TiVo now comes with an extra £50 off
The Premiere Collection offering up to 60Mb broadband, Talk Weekends and 175+ TV channels with 500GB TiVo plus a spare HD box for a second room now comes with an extra £75 off
The VIP Collection offering 100Mb broadband, Talk Unlimited Extra and 205+ TV channels including sports and movies with 1TB TiVo plus a spare HD box now comes with an extra £100 off
In all cases the extra discount will be credited to your first monthly bill.
Plusnet Unlimited - 12 months FREE broadband and £75 cashback!
Sky TV Bundles - Reward of your choice worth up to £250 and up to half price Sky TV for a year!
BT Broadband - 12 months better than half price truly unlimited broadband + Sainsbury's gift cards!
Virgin Media Big Bundles - 12 months reduced price, 6 months free Netflix and up to £100 reward!
