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Virgin Media’s Mega Volt bundle is as comprehensive as it gets. Ultra fast internet, a full-on TV package, anytime calls, and an unlimited mobile SIM. Our guide outlines what’s included in this broadband deal, how much it costs and how it compares to packages on offer from other providers.
Price | From £85 per month |
Broadband | M500 (516Mbps) or Gig1 Fibre (1,000Mbps) |
TV | 230+ channels, including Sky Cinema HD and Sky Sports HD, as well as Netflix Standard |
Phone | Inclusive anytime calls to UK landlines and mobiles |
Installation | £0 setup fee |
Contract length | 18 months |
Mobile | O2 SIM (with unlimited data, minutes and texts) |
With an average download speed of 516Mbps, Virgin Media’s M500 Broadband can handle pretty much anything you throw at it.
For instance, an HD film will download in around 15 seconds, and a 10GB video game update will take just over a minute. So, a large house full of people separately streaming HD films at once can do so without interruption or a noticeable slowdown.
It’s worth noting that Virgin Media’s Gig1 Fibre package came the closest to its advertised speed in the latest Ofcom broadband performance report, averaging 1.13Gbps. This means you’ll usually get what you pay for with the provider.
The average upload speed on the M500 connection is just 52Mbps. Unfortunately, this isn’t far from the norm for ultrafast connections – not many providers offer fully symmetrical lines.
The question isn’t whether the Mega Volt bundle’s ultrafast broadband is fast enough, but whether it’s too fast. Most users rarely need speeds higher than 100Mbps and will likely save money by downgrading slightly from the Gig1 breakneck connection.
The Mega Volt bundle comes with every channel Virgin TV offers. This means you get its premium base package, along with the following add-ons:
Overall, it comes with 242 channels, giving you pretty much everything you could want, except for Sky Atlantic, which is only available through Sky or BT.
To get the same TV coverage on the next package down (the Bigger Combo bundle), you’d actually pay the same amount as you would for the Mega Volt bundle (once you add on the additional channels) but with slower internet, a more limited landline calls package and no mobile SIM.
If your TV can handle it, you’ll be able to watch Virgin TV in crystal-clear 4K Ultra HD.
Here’s how the Mega Volt bundle stacks up against Virgin’s other packages in terms of coverage for key channels:
Channel | Big bundle | Bigger Combo | Mega Volt |
---|---|---|---|
Sky Sports channels | – | – | ✓ |
Sky Cinema channels | – | – | ✓ |
MTV | – | ✓ | ✓ |
Cartoon Network | – | – | ✓ |
As with any of Virgin’s broadband and TV deals, you’ll get a 4K-ready Virgin TV 360 set-top box to watch, stream and record TV on. For an extra £10 a month, you can add a Mini box, which you can use to get similar functionality in other rooms in your house. The 360 box works like most other set-top boxes and isn’t really a selling point in and of itself; however, it’s a good bit of kit.
Virgin’s Hub 5 router is similarly effective, but it’s unlikely to be a deciding factor when you’re picking between this and deals from other broadband providers. It works much like any other router; however, the Intelligent WiFi functionality, which moves devices between different channels to ensure consistently reliable service, is a nice addition.
Most of us don’t use a landline any more, so this section may not be of much interest. Nevertheless, with the Mega Volt bundle, you’ll get one with unlimited calls to any UK number.
If you’re not going to use it, this might seem frivolous, but considering all you get, even without the landline, the price of this package is good.
One of the biggest selling points of the Mega Volt bundle is the mobile SIM that’s thrown in, courtesy of Virgin Media’s partnership with O2. The O2 SIM comes with unlimited data, minutes and texts, as well as 5G capability should you need it.
Since, from a standard mobile network, a SIM-only contract with the same allowance would set you back around £20 a month, getting it as part of your broadband tariff is pretty good.
The issue with switching to the SIM is that it’s unlikely that the start of your broadband tariff will line up perfectly with the end of your current mobile tariff. Even if it’s a good deal, you probably don’t need two mobile tariffs at once.
If you only have a few months left on your mobile plan, though, it might be worth letting them overlap for a bit before switching to the O2 SIM and cutting out your monthly phone bill.
The Mega Volt package, previously known as the Ultimate Volt bundle, costs £85 a month, which is not cheap. However, considering everything you get for that money, it’s actually a pretty good deal.
To get similarly fast broadband on its own from another provider, you’d be looking at around £35-50 a month. The only providers you’ll get a similar TV package on top from are BT and Sky.
Sky’s broadband speeds don’t get faster than 900Mbps, and while BT does offer a 910Mbps package, it’s not available to many households. Moreover, by the time you’ve added the channels you want to your bundle, you could easily pay more than the Mega Volt’s £85 monthly cost while only getting a 67Mbps connection.
And that’s all before you add on the mobile tariff.
The ideal Mega Volt customer lives in a relatively large household, loves films, is an avid sports fan and has a mobile contract that’s just about to come to an end.
However, even if only a couple of those are true for you, it’s probably still a good deal to choose. As we’ve said above, for the TV alone, it’s probably worth the cost, since you’ll struggle to find a cheaper equivalent elsewhere, even without all the bells and whistles.