Virgin Media UK Adopts 1 Month Contracts for Broadband, TV and Phone

Cable operator Virgin Media has today taken the surprise decision to introduce a new range of broadband products with 1 month rolling contracts, which includes standalone services as well as their various other service bundles with phone and TV etc.

Most of the markets largest broadband ISPs have tended to swing between 12 and 18 month terms, although some like TalkTalk and Plusnet have started to give subscribers the option of different contract lengths. However it should be said that shorter terms are fairly common at the other end of the market, where smaller and often higher quality providers like to play.

In that sense Virgin Media’s change is perhaps a reflection of their latest adaptation to an ever changing environment and one that, they will hope, might help to attract some extra subscribers. The caveat with shorter contracts is that related packages tend to be more expensive because providers have less financial certainty and that’s true here too, as our example below shows.

Example of the Price Difference (Contract Length)

SuperFibre 50 broadband (50Mbps) – 12 Month Term
Price: £32.25 a month for 12 months + £14.99 one-off activation fee

SuperFibre 50 broadband (50Mbps) – 1 Month Term
Price: £32.25 a month + £59.99 one-off activation fee

SuperFibre 50 broadband and phone – 12 Month Term
Price: £32 a month for 12 months (£40 thereafter) + £14.99 one-off activation fee

SuperFibre 50 broadband and phone – 1 Month Term
Price: £40 a month + £59.99 one-off activation fee

Interestingly the only difference between the 12 and 1 month term on Virgin Media’s standalone (solus) 50Mbps package is in their higher setup fee (£14.99 vs £59.99), while the monthly price is identical and that in our view makes it quite attractive. Meanwhile the broadband and phone bundle shares the same difference, although you also lose their current discount for the first 12 months of service (£32 vs £40 per month).

Naturally it’s a similar story for Virgin Media’s faster packages and bundles. The big advantage of a monthly contract is that if you don’t like what you’ve been given then it’s fairly painless to leave, which might encourage more people to take the plunge and give the cable giant a try. No doubt that’s precisely what any operator, especially one in the throes of a major network expansion, would wish to see.