Launched in 1999, Virgin Mobile is the telecom subsidiary of Virgin Media. It uses the combined Orange and T-Mobile ‘Everything Everywhere’ network, currently the largest in the UK, to provide its services.
Reasons to choose Virgin:
Pay Monthly
Virgin Mobile offer Pay Monthly contracts both with a phone included and without (SIM Only). Because they do not include a contribution towards the cost of a handset in their monthly fees, SIM Only contracts are cheaper and have shorter durations than equivalent contracts including a phone.
Phone Included
Virgin Mobile offer four standard 24 month Pay Monthly tariffs: Starter, Essential, Premiere and Premiere 08. Each tariff offers a standard set of free minutes, texts and data allowance, and a base price which can be increased depending on the cost of the phone selected with the tariff.
Starter – This is the most basic package, offering a modest allowance of minutes, texts and mobile data.
Essential – This package offers a higher number of inclusive minutes along with unlimited texts and and a medium data allowance.
Premiere – This package offers a high allowance of minutes and unlimited texts, mobile data and calls to landlines.
Premiere 08 – This package is the same as the standard Premiere tariff above, but also includes an allowance of minutes to 0800, 0845, 0870 and 0808 numbers.
Virgin Media customers can receive a discount to Virgin Mobile deals. These plans are also available as 12 month contracts, typically at a higher monthly cost.
SIM Only
All Virgin Mobile SIM Only contracts are offered on flexible 30 day rolling contracts. These contracts are divided into the same categories as standard contracts (Starter, Essential, Premiere and Premiere 08), but are usually cheaper because the cost of a phone is not included in the monthly price.
Virgin also offers special SIM Only deals for Virgin Media customers. These are 30 day rolling contracts offer extra value for money.
Mobile data for SIM Only customers without bundled internet access is provided on a ‘pay as you browse’ basis.
Pay As You Go (PAYG)
Virgin Mobile offers two PAYG plans: the ‘Pay As You Go Addict’ tariff and the Simply 8p Tariff. The Addict tariff offers extra benefits when customers top up over a certain amount each month, such as free UK text messages and mobile internet access. Virgin Media customers can receive a special ´Addict Extra´ tariff that also provides free minutes with some top ups. The Simply 8p Tariff doesn´t offer special benefits with top ups, but instead offers lower charges of 8p per minute or per text.
Additionally, customers who move from another network and transfer their number to Virgin Mobile receive 100 free minutes.
If you’re moving from another network onto Virgin Mobile, you can keep your old number by acquiring a PAC, or ‘Porting Authorisation Code’, from your current network provider. To obtain a PAC, you should only have to call your current network provider and request one. Network providers in the UK are expected to comply with Ofcom regulations, which state that PACs should be provided either immediately over the phone when requested or within two hours via text message.
You can obtain a PAC either before or after signing up to a new contract with Virgin, but note that PACs are only valid for 30 days after they are first issued. When you receive your new Virgin SIM, you’ll be assigned a new number. You can then call Virgin and pass on your details and PAC code. Once this is done, Virgin Mobile should replace your new number with your old within a few working days.
Benefit | Cost | Description | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Virgin Media Deals | Free | Virgin Mobile offers special deals on PAYG and Pay Monthly contracts to anyone who’s already a Virgin Media customer. | All |
PAYG Phone Upgrades | Free | Virgin Mobile contributes £10 towards the cost of a new phone for every £100 spent by PAYG customers, up to a maximum contribution of £100. | PAYG |
Connect a Friend | Free | When a friend picks up a Virgin PAYG SIM on a current Virgin PAYG customer’s recommendation, stating their name and phone number, they receive a reward of £10 free airtime. | PAYG |
Transfer Bonus | Free | Virgin Mobile gives 100 minutes for free to all customers who transfer their number from another network to a Virgin PAYG tariff. | PAYG |
Most standard Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly contracts include a monthly allowance of mobile data, with some including unlimited data. Customers without monthly mobile data allowances or customers who exceed their data allowance can access the internet for a daily charge.
Pay As You Go customers can use mobile data at the same rates as Pay Monthly customers. Alternatively, PAYG customers who top up over a given amount in a month receive a data allowance.
Below is a table to give you an idea how much data you might need:
100 MB | 500MB | 1GB | |
---|---|---|---|
downloading or streaming music | 20 songs | 100 songs | 200 songs |
downloading or streaming video | 20 minutes | 1 hours | 2 hours |
basic webpages ( text or mobile versions) | 1,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
rich webpages (containing, rich images & flash) | 300 | 1,500 | 3,000 |
text emails | 100,000 | 500,000 | 1,000,000 |
emails with images or attachments | 200 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
Table represents approximate values.
Will I have covarage in my area? You can use this handy coverage map to check sygnal strength in your area and nationwide.
Take a look at our network comparison table to compare the key features of Virgin Mobile against other major UK networks.