Virgin Media’s broadband connections are delivered by its own cable network which plugs fibre-based cables straight into people’s homes, rather than just the local street cabinet.
This means it can offer significantly higher speeds than the typical superfast fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband services that depend on Openreach’s network. And that means there are a range of ultrafast packages to choose from.
New customers will require Virgin Media to send an engineer to install the cable and get everything working. You can arrange this when you place your order.
However, homes that have had Virgin Media installed previously can use the firm’s QuickStart self-install, which lets you get started in just a few simple steps.
Most Virgin Media broadband and TV packages will require an installation fee, which is typically £35.
If you’re able to use the QuickStart option, you’ll receive all the equipment you need via courier or click and collect, with QuickStart packs usually sent within three working days for the UK mainland, or within four working days if you live in Northern Ireland.
For engineer visits, you’ll be able to choose your date when you place the order, usually within around 14 days. Once at your home, it should take between 30 minutes and two hours to get things up and running.
If you’re using the QuickStart service, your Virgin Media router should be very easy to get up and running, as you’ll just need to plug in a few cables. You can find specific steps for each model of router on the Virgin Media website.
The nature of Virgin’s cable network means there should be much less variation in what actual speeds households should be able to receive, so if Virgin Media is available in your area, you should usually expect to receive speeds very close to what is advertised.
To see if Virgin Media broadband is available to your home, you can use Postcode Checker.
If you’re already a customer of Virgin Media and want to upgrade your services, the company has lots of offers and deals available. You can see what’s on offer at the moment by logging into your account on the Virgin Media website.