Virgin Media broadband speeds explained
From fast to even faster, get to know what broadband speeds we offer and what you can expect from each one.
Enter your postcode to see what’s available in your home:
Here's what you can get at your home
Making our broadband speeds work for you
Nobody wants to put up with weak or slow broadband speeds or a contract you’re not happy with. We’ve outlined a few ways you can ensure your broadband connectivity remains fast and efficient at all time.
The ‘normally available speed range’ is the download and upload speed, measure in Mbps (Megabits per second) that you can expect your Virgin Media Hub to get at peak times (8-10pm, Monday-Sunday). This is in line with Ofcom’s Voluntary Code of Practice for Better Broadband Speed Information, which we’ve signed up to.
The data for our advertised and normally available internet speeds comes from a broadband measurement panel made up of real customers spread out across our network. Powered by SamKnows, we run millions of tests a month to understand how Virgin Media broadband speeds perform in different areas.
The actual speed you experience can be lower than estimated. Virgin Media speeds may be affected by things we can’t control – like the use of WiFi, the device you’re using, the wiring in your building and the number of users online accessing a particular website. Also, high usage, such as during major sporting events, at peak times may cause congestion.
When we explain broadband speeds, there are always different factors involved. So while the actual speed of your service may vary, for new and existing customers who changed their broadband services on or after 28th February 2019, we now provide a minimum download speed guarantee to your Virgin Media Hub. This is 50% of the advertised internet speed for your broadband service on the date you placed your order.
Our current advertised speeds are listed in the table above. You’ll need to keep the Hub plugged in and switched on for us to get speed information from it. The minimum download speed guarantee does not apply to outages.
If the download speeds to your the Virgin Media Hub falls below our minimum download speed guarantee for three consecutive days (continuously or intermittently) and we’re unable to fix the problem within 30 days, you may be able to leave your contract without paying an early disconnection fee.
That goes for new customers, or existing customers who changed their broadband services on or after 28th February 2019. This being said, we always aim to deliver the Virgin Media broadband speed you signed up for.
We don’t use traffic management, meaning you can download and upload as much as you like without traffic management slowing your internet speed down. The exception to this is for customers that have agreed to a limit on their broadband usage.
We do have other reasonable traffic management measures across our network in order to meet our legal obligations, maintain the integrity and security of our networks, give you parental controls and provide you with the services you’ve asked us to.
For more details on our traffic management and other reasonable traffic management measures, please go to our traffic page.
Great internet experiences can move you, but only when your connection is truly great. Our cable’s thicker copper core combined with quality insulation allows us to deliver average speeds of 516Mbps on our top tier, M500.
We own the entire network to your home which means we can measure the reliability of your connection from beginning to end – including the Virgin Media WiFi Hub.
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The legal stuff
*Monthly price of Virgin Media’s main services and O2 Airtime Plan will increase each April from April 2025 by the Retail Price Index rate of inflation announced in February each year plus 3.9%. Doesn’t apply to any add-ons you may have selected, out-of-bundle charges or admin costs, which may increase separately. See www.virginmedia.com/prices and www.o2.co.uk/prices for details.
3 Months Free
New customers. Virgin Fibre areas. Subject to credit check. 18 month contract. Select packages. No setup fee, online only. Ends 8th Dec. Terms apply.
GWS network award comparing major UK providers average performance scores (including speed & reliability). Verify at: virginmedia.com/legal/awards. User speed depends on package choice.
Disney+ Standard Plan
Get 3 months on us (“Offer Period”). You’ll be automatically opted in to a paid monthly subscription of Disney+ Standard Plan of £8.99pm after Offer Period. Cancel Disney+ plan at any time by calling Virgin Media or within 30 days of the end of your Offer Period through your MyVM app. Offer may be withdrawn at any time. Charges applied to your Virgin Media bill & are subject to change. Eligibility: new or recontracting customers taking a Virgin Media broadband service on an 18-month contract, excludes Essential broadband. Must activate Disney+ within 14 days of receiving confirmation email. Must set up Disney+ account & agree to its terms of use. Cannot benefit from more than one offer period. Unless otherwise communicated to you, redeeming Disney+ through Virgin Media will not automatically cancel or suspend any Disney+ subscription offered directly by Disney or through another third party. It’s your responsibility to manage direct or third party subscriptions. © 2024 Disney and its related entities. Virgin Media service eligibility criteria applies which includes being a UK resident, 18+. See full terms here.
No setup fee
This promotion means you won’t pay the usual setup fee of £35. No setup fee is available on all bundles, broadband & phone, and broadband only packages. If you can set up using a Self-Install pack, but choose to use an engineer for the installation, you’ll still be charged £30 for this service.
These prices are for new customers only.
Virgin Media services are only available in eligible Virgin Media network areas. Virgin TV 360 and, for the time being, home phone are not available in new network expansion areas.
All of the products on this page are subject to survey, network capacity and a credit check.
Each service has a minimum contract length that’s shown in your basket.
If you take a bundle with both Virgin Media and O2, you’ll have separate contracts and bills – one for Virgin Media, and another for O2.
- Offers are subject to eligibility and availability.
- Read the terms on the Priority app or at o2.co.uk/terms
Get fast, reliable WiFi gliding through every room or money back
Eligible Virgin Fibre areas only. WiFi Guarantee available with M50 broadband or faster. £8p/m extra or included with Gig1, Gig2 or Volt. At least 30Mbps download speeds in every room or £100 one-off credit. Up to 3 WiFi Pods if needed. Exclusions & legal stuff apply.
†To verify, see: https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/awards. Best Broadband Experience Award: GWS network award based on national tests Dec ’23-May ’24 comparing major UK providers’ average scores in respect of speed, reliability, latency, packet loss & video streaming. User speed depends on broadband package choice. Virgin Fibre areas only. Best Combined Connectivity Experience: based on GWS test results Dec '23-May '24 comparing data connectivity performance of major UK mobile operators and their associated ISP partners to form a combined score across both mobile network and WiFi experience. Best in Test: based on umlaut Fixed Broadband Benchmark 2023 comparing major UK ISPs on download speed, upload speed, latency and stability. Uswitch Most Popular Broadband Provider: based on Uswitch consumer research Dec 2022 - Jan 2023 conducted by Opinium comparing broadband sales volumes and overall customer satisfaction of major UK ISP operators, split equally to form a combined score.