By Virgin Media offers Volt broadband and TV bundles with an O2 SIM card. Find out about the Volt plans and how they work.
In the UK, Virgin Media now offers a range of Volt broadband plans. Alongside your Virgin Media broadband service, you’ll get an O2 SIM card included. This comes with 10GB data per month (or unlimited data when you choose the Mega Volt Bundle).
Alongside the supercharged home broadband connection and O2 SIM card, you’ll get whole home wi-fi through Virgin Media’s Intelligent Wi-Fi Plus. You’ll also get the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone add-on included on your SIM card.
In this article, we’ll review the Volt broadband plans available on Virgin Media, including how they work and what you’ll get included on the plan. We’ll then look at the best Volt broadband deals currently available and how you can switch your home broadband service to Virgin Media.
| Prices From: | £35.99 per month (broadband & mobile) £33.99 per month (broadband, TV & mobile) |
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| Contract Length: | 18 months |
| Volt Benefits: |
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| Coverage: | 53% of UK homes Check your postcode here |
Contents
What is Virgin Media Volt?
In 2021, Virgin Media merged with O2 in the UK. As a result of the merger, the brands have introduced Volt customer benefits. The Volt benefits are available when you’re a customer of both brands (so you’ll need to have both a Virgin Media broadband connection and an O2 mobile SIM card).
The following benefits are available to Volt customers:
- Faster broadband with Virgin Media. As a Volt customer, you’ll get an upgrade to the next fastest available broadband plan on Virgin Media. For instance, you’ll get M250 Fibre Broadband for the price of M125 Fibre Broadband.
- Extra mobile data with O2. As a Volt customer, you’ll get double data on all of your O2 Pay Monthly SIM cards. If you’re on a plan with 250GB data or more, this will be upgraded to unlimited data.
- Intelligent WiFi Plus with Virgin Media. You’ll be able to add Intelligent WiFi Plus to your Virgin Media broadband connection at no extra cost. This gives you better home wi-fi with up to 3 Intelligent WiFi Pods that extend the range of your home wi-fi.
- O2 Travel Inclusive Zone. You’ll be able to roam at no extra cost in a total of 75 international destinations. Volt customers will get an extra 27 destinations including the USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
You’ll also get all of the normal customer benefits of being on O2 (e.g. access to O2 Priority and O2 Extras on your Pay Monthly SIM card).
If you’re in the market for both a broadband connection and a new SIM card for your mobile, Virgin Media offers a range of Volt broadband plans. Alongside your broadband service (and TV if you choose it), you’ll get an O2 SIM card included on your plan. As a result, you’ll be able to get all of the Volt customer benefits with it.
Volt Benefits
Faster Broadband & Extra Mobile Data
As a Volt customer, you’ll get an upgrade to the next fastest broadband plan on Virgin Media, unless you’re already on Gig1 fibre broadband (their fastest available plan). To give an example, you might get M250 Fibre Broadband (with an average download speed of 264Mbps) for the price of M125 Fibre Broadband (which has an average download speed of 132Mbps).
You’ll also get double data on all O2 Pay Monthly plans that are registered in your name (or unlimited data on plans where the original data allowance is 250GB per month or more). For instance, an O2 SIM card with 5GB data per month will be boosted up to 10GB per month for Volt customers.
If you’re buying one of the Volt broadband plans from Virgin Media, you’ll get both Virgin Media broadband for your home and an O2 SIM card for your mobile phone. Your bill will actually be split up into two separate parts. You’ll pay a discounted price for your Virgin Media broadband service. You’ll then pay the following for your O2 SIM card:
- £12/month for 10GB data (boosted from 5GB)
- £15/month for 30GB data (boosted from 15GB)
- £18/month for 100GB data (boosted from 50GB)
- £25/month for unlimited data
Both your Virgin Media broadband connection and your O2 SIM card will have an 18-month contract.
Intelligent Wi-Fi Plus
As a Volt customer, you’ll be able to add Virgin Media’s Intelligent WiFi Plus at no extra cost. This is Virgin Media’s mesh wi-fi solution where you’re able to get up to three Intelligent WiFi Pods to boost the Wi-Fi signal through your home.
The Intelligent WiFi Pods works together with your Virgin Media Hub to give you one seamless Wi-Fi network covering the whole home.
Compared to if you were just using the Virgin Media Hub on its own, you should get better Wi-Fi coverage with faster speeds and fewer signal blackspots. All of your devices will automatically get the strongest possible Wi-Fi connection and there’s no need to sign in to different networks as you walk around the home.
O2 Travel Inclusive Zone
Normally, O2 Pay Monthly customers are able to use their mobile phone in 48 European destinations at no extra cost. This is subject to a fair use policy of 25GB data per month, above which you’ll be surcharged at a rate of £3.50 per GB.
As a Volt customer, you’ll also get the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone added to all of the O2 Pay Monthly plans in your name. This gives you inclusive roaming in a further 27 international destinations including the USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
In the 27 additional O2 Travel Inclusive Zone countries, you’ll get 120 minutes and 120 texts to use each day. You’ll also be able to use mobile data on your phone. According to O2, there’s “no upper use limit” on data usage but it is “subject to traffic management”. Their terms and conditions state a maximum speed of 500kbps (0.5Mbps) when abroad. This should be fine for basic web browsing and instant messaging. However, it may not be possible to stream videos smoothly when you’re abroad.
For more information, see our O2 Travel review.
O2 Priority & O2 Extras
As an O2 customer, you’ll get access to the O2 Priority app. This gives you access to exclusive discounts, freebies and offers every week. You’ll also get early pre-sale access to selected gig and event tickets.
Your O2 Pay Monthly plan also includes an O2 Extra that lasts for up to six months. The most popular option is an inclusive Disney+ subscription. However, you can choose an alternative such as Amazon Music Unlimited, Audible, Cafeyn or McAfee.
Unfortunately, Amazon Prime Video is not available as an option for your O2 Extra when you join through Virgin Media. To get Amazon Prime Video, you’ll need to order your O2 SIM card directly from O2.
Volt Broadband Deals
Broadband & Mobile
The easiest way to become a Volt customer is by ordering one of Virgin Media’s Volt broadband plans.
For instance, you can get Virgin Media’s M250 Fibre Broadband with an O2 10GB SIM for a combined price of £35.99 per month. This will give you access to all of the Volt customer benefits including Intelligent WiFi Plus and the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone add-on.
| Service | Broadband & TV | Monthly Cost (will rise each April by RPI inflation plus 3.9%) |
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|---|---|---|---|
 Volt M250 fibre broadband + phone + O2 SIM
| 264Mbps average download | £35.99 per month No upfront fee £29.99 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
Volt M350 fibre broadband + phone + O2 SIM
| 362Mbps average download | £41.99 per month No upfront fee £35.99 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
Volt M500 fibre broadband + phone + O2 SIM
| 516Mbps average download | £47.99 per month No upfront fee £41.99 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
Volt Gig1 fibre broadband + phone + O2 SIM
| 1130Mbps average download | £53.99 per month No upfront fee £47.99 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
See all Volt broadband plans →
Broadband, TV & Mobile
For a little bit extra, you can add Virgin TV 360 to your Volt broadband plan. For instance, Virgin’s M125 Broadband + Flex Volt with M125 Fibre Broadband and a 10GB O2 SIM card is available for £33.99/month.
If you’re looking for the ultimate experience, you can choose Virgin Media’s flagship plan, the Mega Volt Bundle. This comes with Virgin Media’s M500 broadband which has an average download speed of 516Mbps. You’ll also get more than 230 television channels including Sky Sports, Sky Cinema and more. Alongside this, there’s an inclusive Netflix Standard subscription and an O2 SIM card with unlimited data.
| Service | Broadband & TV | Monthly Cost (will rise each April by RPI inflation plus 3.9%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
M125 Broadband + Flex Volt
| 132Mbps average download 100+ channels | £33.99 per month plus £10.00 upfront 18 month contract | See deal |
Bigger Combo Volt Bundle
| 362Mbps average download 
| £49.99 per month No upfront fee £10 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
Bigger Movies Combo Volt Bundle
| 264Mbps average download 
| £70.99 per month No upfront fee £10 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
Bigger Sports Combo Volt Bundle
| 1130Mbps average download 
| £79.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract | See deal |
Mega Volt Bundle
| 1130Mbps average download 
| £84.99 per month No upfront fee £20 for 3 months 18 month contract | See deal |
See all Volt broadband & TV bundles →
Switching to Virgin Media Volt
If you’re currently using a different broadband provider, it’s easy switching your service to Virgin Media.
Start by ordering your new Virgin Media Volt broadband online. When you do this, you’ll be given a choice of installation dates. An engineer will come round to install the service on that date. Alternatively, you might be offered a QuickStart kit if your home is already connected to the Virgin Media network.
Separately, you’ll need to tell your old provider that you’re moving to Virgin Media and that you’d like to cancel your old service with them. For step-by-step instructions, please select your current broadband provider below:
Switch to Virgin Media
Your step-by-step guide to switching
For more information, see our full guide to switching broadband providers in the UK.
In addition, if you’d like to transfer your existing mobile number to the O2 SIM card, you’ll need to go through a separate process. See our in-depth guide on how to transfer your phone number to O2.
More Information
For more information about the Volt customer offers, please see the Virgin Media website. You can also read more about their Volt customer benefits.
Nick Atkinson said:
Hi
We recently converted our existing VirginMedia provision to the Volt/O2 deal and I’m examining it in more detail as still within the 14-day cancel period. We took it not because we wanted the extra O2 sim (we don’t) but because the deal resulted in an overall monthly price reduction of £24, even once the extra O2 payment is included.
Is this a good deal do you think? Or are there hidden implications/costs down the line that might cost us more in the long run? The contract is for 18 months. I think there’s a cancellation fee before then, hence the need to check it carefully now.
Ken replied:
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your comment. No, I think this can work out very well – in fact, I’ve done the same thing myself in the past. You can probably move one of your existing lines over to the O2 SIM card that’s provided – it will result in a saving on your phone bill elsewhere (as long as you’re out of contract, etc). Alternatively, you can use the SIM in another device like your 4G tablet.
If you really don’t have a need for the O2 SIM card, you can of course check to see if there any non-Volt deals that will work out even cheaper (e.g. you might get a slower broadband connection but that might be fine for you).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Nick Atkinson replied:
Many thanks for your reply and advice Ken. Very helpful. The one negative factor I can see at the moment is the cancellation fee after the 14 days. Looks like around £70 odd for each remaining month of the contract, so we’d need to feel pretty confident about being ok with it for the next 18 months! I think it also applies if you decide to downgrade e.g. to a smaller TV package.