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3. Bigger Bundle Review

The Virgin Media Bigger Bundle is one step away from Virgin's all-encompassing Ultimate Oomph Bundle. It offers a great range of channels, currently bundled up with 100Mbps broadband and free weekend calls, but without the hefty price tag of the Ultimate Oomph.

Sports fans will be happy with the BT Sport channels that are included, but that's only the start – there are over 210 channels included making Virgin Media's Bigger Bundle a great all-rounder for any household.

Overview

Broadband

The Bigger Bundle offers 100Mbps fibre broadband, which is mighty healthy indeed when everything is working at full tilt. Of course, it needs to be powerful and quick, because it’s being sold as something that can handle a full household of people, all using it at the same time.

With the speed offered, it would be able to handle everyone streaming their own movies, music, and videos, simultaneously. And there would still be enough bandwidth leftover for whoever is left playing on Instagram.

Virgin are offering their ‘fastest ever hub’, and looking at Ofcom’s latest broadband performance figures, you’re actually likely to get the speeds that you’re paying for. In fact, if anything, you’re looking at getting slightly over, which Virgin will give you for free. Over a 24-hour period, the average speed is 108Mbps.

If you’re wondering why speeds vary from those advertised, it’s because there are a lot of factors at play, such as the wiring in your house, and times of exceptional online traffic (imagine something like a big FIFA World Cup game, or a royal wedding, where everyone is trying to watch the same thing, at the same time), as well as other factors.

It's also worth noting that Virgin offer a range of 'upgraded' versions of the Bigger Bundle, which include extras such as more sports or movie channels. These upgraded bundles often come with upgraded broadband too, so that can be a relatively affordable shortcut to even faster speeds – usually doubled up to a truely quick 213Mb.

TV Channels

If you’re a sports fan, this bundle has some good news for you, as you have access to BT Sports 1, 2, and 3, as well as BT Sport’s ESPN channel. That means Premier League football, Aviva Premiership Rugby, UFC, motorsports, ESPN’s brilliant sports documentaries, NBA, and a whole lot more. There’s also Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Mix too.

The Bigger Bundle package also has a number of kids’ TV channels, such as Nickelodeon, Nicktoons and Nick Jr, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and, as it contains all the Freeview channels (as you’d expect), you get CBeebies and CBBC too.

There’s also Comedy Central, Sky One, MTV, SyFy, Sky Arts, Fox, Discovery, National Geographic, and more. You can also access Netflix, various On Demand services like BBC iPlayer, and YouTube through the Virgin TV 360 box you get with the bundle.

Equipment

TV 360 Box

With the Bigger Bundle, you get the Virgin TV 360 Box, plus you can add up to two Mini boxes which will enable you to watch and steam from all over your home. You can watch live TV, shows and recordings with a compatible tablet or smartphone around the house and you get the box for free when you sign up for the Bigger Bundle. To be perfectly honest, there’s a convincing argument that there is no better bit of kit – at least one that comes for free.

Hub 3 router

Where other providers will downgrade your kit, depending on which package you buy, Virgin have been clever in offering their best kit to everyone, regardless of the bundle they’ve bought.

Virgin are very proud of their DOCSIS 3 technology, which is basically the type of cable they’re using to make the internet happen in your house. While most companies still rely on copper cables, Virgin run with something faster, and more reliable. This is how they aim to give the most reliable speeds and service. There’ll be glitches, like any other service, but what they’re offering is pretty great.

The idea is, with this new cabling, that it enables you to juggle more devices simultaneously, which means your hub won’t groan if you’re trying to stream from Spotify and Netflix at the same time, while the kids are in the kitchen watching Peppa Pig on the tablet.

There’s a landline too, if you still use one

If you still want the use of a landline phone, then the good news is that one is thrown in with this package. If you’re switching over from BT, you can keep your old phone number too.

As part of this package, you get unlimited weekend calls to landlines and numbers on Virgin Mobile, which is half decent.

Virgin will allow you to add more talk time to your plan, if that’s something you require. For example, you can add Talk More Weekends, which includes all UK mobiles into your allowance. There’s also a Talk More International Anytime offer, where you can stay in touch with family and friends who live overseas.

Conclusion

The thing that is going to swing this is whether you’re adamant you want the Sky Sports channels. While Virgin have a Ultimate Oomph package that offers these, as do a few of the upgraded Big Bundle packages, the basic Bigger Bundle package doesn’t. However, if that’s of no concern, this is one of the best Virgin Media bundles, and is fantastic for a household that is looking for fast broadband, a quality DVR/set-top box, and some decent telly thrown in to boot.

If broadband speed is your priority, then Virgin Media are the one to look at. If you’re streaming a lot of media and have multiple people in the house wanting to do the same thing, then this is a winner for you. You get 100Mbps to play with, which is not to be sniffed at. Plus, should you want to downgrade at all, you get the same kit with all bundles.

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