| Virgin Media
3 Months Free Broadband or 2 Months Free Bundles
Get super-fast fibre optic broadband up to 50Mb, fantastic digital TV and a phone package bundle to suit you from Virgin Media. Prices start from just £18 a month for triple bundle deals.
There's three month's free on Broadband Size L (up to 10Mb) and Phone double deals and two months free on all triple broadband, TV and phone bundle packages.
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No Virgin Phone line required & free wireless router Up to 10Mb unlimited fibre optic broadband. Free wireless router. Free PCGuard internet security. No phone line required. No Phone Line Required Up to 10Mb Unlimited Broadband Free Wireless Router £15 per month £15.00 for 3 months then £20 a month | 3 months free broadband - Save £37.50 Up to 10Mb unlimited fibre optic broadband. Free wireless router. Unlimited weekend calls. Up to 10Mb Fibre Optic Broadband Free Wireless Router Unlimited Weekend Calls 3 Months FREE! FREE for 3 months then £12.50 a month | Broadband, digital TV & phone for £18 a month 65 digital channels, up to 10Mb unlimited broadband and unlimited weekend UK calls. Up to 10Mb Fibre Optic Broadband 65 Digital TV Channels Unlimited Weekend Calls 2 months free! FREE for 2 months then £18 a month |
Featured Virgin Media packages
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| 12 months | £35.00 one-off fee | £15.00 for 3 months
then £20.00 | |
| 12 months | FREE no fee | FREE for 2 months
then £23.50 | |
| 12 months | FREE no fee | FREE for 2 months
then £33.50 | |
Virgin Media is a provider of land line telephone, mobile phone, broadband internet and television services in the UK. It also owns a television company, Virgin Media Television - previously known as Flextech - which owns channels such as Virgin 1, Bravo and the UK TV stations.
The company's cable operations date back to the early history of Telewest, formed as Croyden Cable in the early 1980s, which soon expanded around the South East of England and into Scotland. The company later took over General Cable, giving Telewest coverage in the Midlands, Yorkshire and further parts of London. In the later 1990s, the company vertically integrated by acquiring Flextech, the provider of several cable channels carried by Telewest.
NTL's history goes back to 'Cable Tel' from the early 1990s, which operated in parts of the South East, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The company also purchased the consumer cable division of Cable & Wireless in 2000, which had been another of the UK's largest cable operators. The first involvement of either Telewest or NTL with the Virgin Group was in the mid 1990s, when Virgin.net was created, as a joint venture between NTL and Virgin, to offer internet services (an ISP) via BT land lines.
By the end of the 1990s, NTL and Telewest operated virtually all of the UK's cable services, but did so in distinct regions. It therefore became clear that there would be synergy between the two companies if they were to merge, with resulting cost savings. This merger was completed in 2006, although the company continued to use the separate Telewest and NTL brands in their respective areas.
A separate company, Virgin Mobile, had been established by Richard Branson's Virgin Group in 1999, operating its own tariffs and phone offers under the T-Mobile network. During NTL and Telewest's merger negotiations, Virgin Mobile had also discussed the option of merging with either of the separate companies, or the combined company.
This merger finally occurred soon after the merger of NTL and Telewest and all services were re-branded Virgin Media in 2007, allowing the combined company to make use of the goodwill associated with the Virgin brand for 20 years, and also allowing the combined company to cross-promote mobile phone and home media services. Following the merger, Virgin.net services were integrated into the company's ADSL broadband products under the 'Virgin National' brand, marketed as services for those UK households without access to cable services in their area. The company also offers its own Freeview set top boxes and phone packages to customers outside of the cable area.
Since becoming affiliated with the Virgin Group, the company's profile has arguably increased, with the company now becoming a visible rival of satellite provider British Sky Broadcasting. Sky currently has a larger market share in television services, although this is because satellite is available across the UK - in areas served by cable, Virgin Media claim to have a greater market share. The two companies engaged in a high profile feud in 2007 regarding contracts to carry channels produced by each other's production arms. This was resolved in 2008, and Virgin Media, alongside Sky, BT, Tiscali and Top Up TV, remains one of the most prominent pay TV providers in the UK.
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