Latest Broadband Deals
Virgin Media Tops Ofcom Broadband Speed Test
Virgin Media Broadband (virginmedia.com/broadbandspeeds) has come out top in the UK’s most comprehensive broadband speed research conducted by Ofcom and broadband monitoring specialists SamKnows.
During May 2010, over 18 million performance tests were carried out in 1,500 UK homes with the results (published on Wednesday) showing that fibre optic cable broadband services delivered much faster actual download speeds than comparable ADSL services provided via a telephone line.
Virgin Media’s up to 10Mbps and up to 20Mbps fibre optic broadband packages delivered actual average download speeds of between 8.2Mbps to 8.8Mbps and 15.7Mbps to 17.3Mbps respectively.
These speeds were found to be around twice as fast as the actual average speeds recorded for those ADSL packages from the likes of Sky, O2 and Plusnet with the same or similar headline ‘up to’ speed.
Commenting on the research, Virgin Media’s Executive Director of Broadband, Jon James said: “Ofcom’s broadband speeds report again proves Virgin Media is consistently more than twice as fast as any of our ADSL competitors. Because we use a next generation fibre optic cable network, our customers can be confident of receiving 90% of the headline speed they buy from us”.
Virgin Media’s up to 50Mbps broadband package was found to deliver actual average download speeds of between 44.4Mbps and 46.5Mbps.
Virgin Broadband prices, when taken with Virgin Media telephone line rental, start from £5 a month for their 10Mbps package, £10 per month for 20Mbps and £15 a month for 50Mbps. Weekend phone calls to UK landlines are included.
55% of UK homes are able to access Virgin Media’s fibre optic broadband network, while no MAC code is usually required from a customer’s existing broadband provider to switch to Virgin Media.
Readers can find out more at the virginmedia.com website.
BE Broadband 2 Months Free Deal Nearing End
BE Broadband’s (bethere.co.uk) July offer of 2 months free home broadband is drawing to a close with the offer due to end this Saturday.
The web exclusive offer applies to the BE Unlimited and BE Pro Broadband packages that are available on 12 month contracts priced at £17.88 per month and £21.97 a month respectively.
New customers signing up online at the bethere.co.uk website can generate savings of up to £43.94 provided they remember to use BE’s special discount code ‘FREEMONTHS’ when prompted during the online ordering process.
Both BE Unlimited and BE Pro broadband packages provide download speeds up to 24Mbps with BE Pro offering increased upload speeds up to 2.5Mbps compared to BE Unlimited’s 1.3Mbps.
Free customer support and a free wireless router is included in both packages.
BE Broadband was recently awarded ‘Best Consumer Fixed Broadband’ by the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA).
Readers can find out more about the BE Broadband 2 months free offer at their official bethere.co.uk website.
TalkTalk Broadband Free Connection Offer Ending Soon
TalkTalk Broadband (talktalk.co.uk) looks set to end its web exclusive free connection offer this Saturday the 31st July.
The offer, available to 80% of UK households and worth £29.99, applies to new customers signing up online at the talktalk.co.uk website to either the TalkTalk Essentials or Plus broadband and phone package.
The TalkTalk Essentials package costs £6.99 a month and provides broadband speeds up to 24Mbps, plus inclusive evening and weekend phone calls to UK landlines.
The TalkTalk Broadband service comes with a useful 40GB monthly download usage allowance, while the phone element of the Essentials package includes free off-peak phone calls to 0845 and 0870 telephone numbers.
Customers requiring unlimited downloads (subject to a fair usage policy) can opt for the TalkTalk Plus package at £14.99 per month.
This package offers unlimited broadband speeds up to 24Mbps plus unlimited anytime phone calls to UK landlines and 0845/0870 numbers.
Both packages provide free technical and customer support, plus a free wireless router.
According to TalkTalk, customers can save £144 versus BT by taking their Essentials package, while higher savings of £237 can be achieved with the TalkTalk Plus package.
Readers wanting to take advantage of TalkTalk’s free connnection offer before it expires this Saturday can find out more at the TalkTalk.co.uk website or by phoning TalkTalk on 0800 049 7865.
Virginmedia.com/skyhd Offers Sky Sports HD On Virgin
Virgin Media (Virginmedia.com/skyhd) has added Sky Sports HD1 and Sky Sports HD2 to its High Definition TV line up with customers able to watch the premium channels from the 2nd of August.
Existing Virgin Media customers already subscribing to a Virgin TV package containing Sky Sports in standard definition need only pay an additional £7 a month on top of their TV package for the HD subscription.
The Virgin Media V HD set top box is required and is currently free of charge, while the V+HD box costs a one-off £49.
New customers considering joining Virgin Media can choose from 3 specially created football TV packages. These cost from £27.50 a month and include 65 digital TV channels, Sky Sports HD1 and HD2, Sky Sports 3 and 4, Sky Sports News, plus unlimited UK weekend landline calls.
On demand catch up TV services like the BBC iPlayer, ITV Net Player, 4OD and the Virgin 1 Player are also included in the package and can be watched on Virgin TV.
Commenting on the launch, Virgin Media’s Executive Director of Digital Entertainment, Cindy Rose, said: “As the new home of HD telly, we’re delighted to bring our customers Sky Sports in HD at incredibly competitive rates.
Rose continued: “With the rapid growth of HD content, customers are demanding more and more from their TV service, and with our growing range of HD channels and on demand content in HD, Virgin Media is the best place for the whole families’ entertainment needs”.
Ten Sky Movies HD channels have also been added, which together with the forthcoming additions of Sky1 HD and Sky Arts HD brings Virgin Media’s total number of HD channels to 30.
Virgin Media’s HD sport line up also includes ESPN HD, EuroSport HD, BBC HD and ITV1 HD with the latter three not costing any additional subscription cost.
Interesed readers can find out more and build their own TV, broadband, phone and Sky Sports bundle at the Virginmedia.com/skyhd website.
Readers can also review Sky’s own Sky Sports HD offer with free broadband and phone calls at the Sky.com/skysports website – with new customers subscribing to Sky+HD online also qualifying for a free £50 Marks & Spencer voucher.
Sky.com/skysports Offers The Full Sky Sports Line Up
Sky (Sky.com/skysports) is using a new TV advert featuring Eric Cantona to remind new and existing customers that the full Sky Sports line up containing all 5 Sky sports channels is only available with Sky TV.
With rival Sky Sports offerings from BT and Virgin Media, Sky TV is the only destination where ALL 5 Sky Sports and news channels are available – Giving subscribers exclusive live coverage of the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Ryder Cup, the Ashes and lots more.
New customers joining Sky can get Sky TV (including 1 Entertainment Pack) with the Sky Sports Pack containing all 5 Sky Sport channels for just £39 a month.
This package also includes a free Sky+ box (usually £49), free Sky Broadband with up to 20Mb broadband speeds and free evening and weekend phone calls to UK landlines with Sky Talk Freetime.
Free standard set up (usually £30) is also being offered together with free Sky Sports access on a laptop and iPhone until the end of 2010.
New customers can also upgrade to Sky’s High Definition (HD) pack for an extra £10 a month and get all Sky Sports channels in HD, with Sky Sports News HD also launching soon.
Existing Sky TV customers can easily add the Sky Sports pack for an extra £20 a month, or pay an extra £30 a month for the HD pack.
All of Sky’s best value offers are exclusively available on their website with new customers also qualifying for a free £25 Marks & Spencer voucher when they sign up to Sky+ online at the Sky.com/skysports website.
New customers subscribing to Sky+HD online qualify for a free £50 Marks & Spencer voucher.
Interesed readers can find out more at Sky.com.
3 Mobile Offer New iPad SIM Card Deals For iPad 3G
3 Mobile (three.co.uk/iPad) has launched two new iPad SIM card deals for the iPad 3G with prices starting from £7.50 a month.
The two new tariffs, both available on short one month contracts, are now on sale at the three.co.uk/iPad website.
For £7.50 a month, iPad 3G users can get the 3 iPad SIM card (Micro-SIM) with 1GB of data allowance per month.
Users wanting a higher monthly data allowance can opt for 3’s 10GB iPad data plan which costs £15 a month.
Three operates the UK’s biggest 3G network with mobile broadband speeds up to 7.2Mbps. The company has iPad SIM card deals available on a pay as you go and one month contract basis.
3’s PAYG iPad SIM cards come pre-loaded with a set data allowance. Prices start from £10 for a 3 PAYG iPad SIM with 1GB of data or £20 for 3GB.
The pre-loaded data allowance is valid for 30 days with top ups available when customers run out of data. Top ups cost £10 for 1GB, £15 for 3GB and £25 for 7GB.
3 Mobile offer free delivery and a 14 day returns policy for their iPad SIM cards.
Readers can find out further information at the three.co.uk/iPad website.
