Virgin Media has revealed plans to provide all its UK subscribers with a complimentary broadband improvement, after a trial proved successful.

The national telecoms company is launching smart support, a round-the-clock broadband speed and connection surveillance feature, without charging existing users anything extra.

The initiative follows a pilot programme where 330,000 customers experienced markedly better broadband performance.

Virgin Media states that smart support delivers a dependable broadband connection and users can anticipate uninterrupted service with fewer disruptions and consistently quick speeds.

What exactly is Virgin Media’s broadband smart support and what capabilities does it have?

The newly unveiled smart support feature for Virgin Media broadband will be capable of the following:

Monitoring broadband connectivity – automatically reviewing broadband coverage and giving priority to helping subscribers facing substantial speed or connectivity difficulties

Walking customers through easy solutions – when connectivity problems are detected, smart support will propose straightforward actions to get things working properly again

Resolving issues remotely overnight – smart support operates in the background, applying required fixes and updates overnight while the household sleeps to prevent disturbing the customer’s routine

Arranging complimentary engineer visits when necessary – if those measures do not solve the problem, subscribers can schedule an engineer at no additional charge

Evaluating whether a WiFi Pod or Hub upgrade is required – if smart support identifies that extra assistance is necessary to guarantee strong coverage throughout a customer’s property, Virgin Media will proactively contact them and suggest solutions such as WiFi Pods to enhance signal strength and improve connectivity

Gareth Lister, Virgin Media O2’s connectivity director, explained that demand on their network keeps growing each year, along with the requirement for dependable connectivity. He noted that smart support monitors broadband continuously and resolves issues promptly, offering customers reassurance that they will remain connected with minimal inconvenience. He added that alongside their superfast speeds and recognised reliability, this represents another way Virgin Media keeps customers connected when it matters most.

Virgin Media’s parent company O2 is simultaneously offering millions of users access to faster, more powerful mobile speeds through the introduction of 5G+ across more than 700 towns and cities, included as standard at no extra charge.

The 5G+ rollout means O2 customers with a suitable device and SIM card (purchased from 2024 or an eSIM) can access O2’s 5G service, complete with improved coverage and quicker speeds.

Customers who have a compatible device but require a SIM update to take advantage of the complimentary upgrade can switch to an eSIM at no additional cost through O2’s website.

Late last year, Virgin Media partnered with Netflix to offer British customers an enhanced entertainment package simply by selecting their high-speed broadband.

Virgin Media stated that from the M500 tier upwards – encompassing Gig1 and all television bundles – Netflix Standard with advertising is now part of selected broadband packages at no extra charge.

The Virgin Media packages currently offering complimentary Netflix with advertising include:

Any broadband and television bundle (including Entertainment, Cinema, and Sport plus Cinema bundles)

Max Volt

M500 Fibre broadband on its own

Gig1 Fibre Broadband on its own

Gig2 Fibre Broadband on its own