Virgin Media prices and broadband speed will rise

[xxMATTGxx]

Virgin Media broadband customers will see bills rise by 6.7% from February.

The company said the price rise would allow it to remain competitive and provide value for its customers.

And it would at the same time begin a rollout to 12.5 million homes served by its fibre-optic broadband service of speeds up to 152Mbps.

That rise, from 120Mbps, would allow users to download a high-definition (HD) film in less than four minutes and a music album in four seconds, it said.

The company said it was also working to increase the speed of other broadband services by up to 20Mbps.

"This is probably the last time that customers will have to take this kind of price hike on the chin," said Dominic Baliszewski, from website broadbandchoices.co.uk.

"New rules from Ofcom governing mid-contract price rises will come into effect from early 2014, forcing providers to give customers the opportunity to cancel their contract without financial penalty if they increase prices during their contract term."

Virgin Media's chief executive officer Tom Mockridge said: "As people connect more things simultaneously to the internet more often, they need powerful broadband with the bandwidth to deliver a great experience for everyone in the home."

Mr Baliszewski added: "For example, 10 people could all be watching HD video content separately without experiencing any buffering."

According to Ofcom, the industry regulator, the average residential broadband speed across the UK is 14.7Mbps. But this increases to 43.6Mbps where the user is connected to the fibre-based network.

The latest figures show 19% of homes have taken up a superfast service, with speeds of 30Mbps.

BT has previously announced their broadband customers will face a price rise of 6.5% from January 2014.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24911042?SThisFB


Thought it would be best to let anyone know is currently with Virgin Media to expect price increase but also a speed increase in 2014.



Also found this link when reading on CableForum: https://my.virginmedia.com/my-offers/bbretier and it currently says for me:

Even faster broadband - coming soon

Right now you have our up to 120Mb broadband. That's really fast, but between April and September 2014 you'll be able to upgrade to super speedy up to 152Mb broadband at no extra monthly cost. We'll email you when it's ready.

[Chippiewill]

I understand the price hike, but considering it took them 2 years to get the last speed increase out I'm not holding out much hope for 20MBps extra coming soon.

[Ardemax]

up to 152Mbps

So basically not anywhere close to 152Mbps for a lot of people.

[Special]

we've signed a 12 month contract, i hope the price hikes don't apply to us

[Drunq]

Thank god I'm not with them then PlusNet

[AgnesIO]

we've signed a 12 month contract, i hope the price hikes don't apply to us

Bet your contract says they can put prices up.

[God]

we've signed a 12 month contract, i hope the price hikes don't apply to us

I hope they don't, but I know with Bell-Aliant in Canada they upgraded their Fiber-op system and we got a rise in 30mbps for free. I really do hope they don't screw you guys over....

[Jack!]

we've signed a 12 month contract, i hope the price hikes don't apply to us

It will, they are allowed to put them up by 8% and not break the terms of the contract, however that changes in April however it won't apply to existing contracts, only new ones.

[AgnesIO]

It would be worth noting, if OFCOM get their way (I assume this will apply to broadband too), you will be able to walk out of any contract if they increase their prices.

[Jack!]

It would be worth noting, if OFCOM get their way (I assume this will apply to broadband too), you will be able to walk out of any contract if they increase their prices.

This is already happening, however it will only apply to new contracts from May? (I think) So old contracts are un-affected by the change and the price can be changed up to 8% at anytime within the contract without allowing the end-user to walk away without charge.