The unexpected shift towards working from home gave rise to a 47% increase in data usage by Virgin Mobile customers when compared to 2019 usage figures.
If you’re a mobile customer of Virgin Media today is your lucky day as the telecommunications company has announced some very big news indeed.
From today, all Virgin Mobile customers will be given access to unlimited data, no matter what plan you’re currently subscribed to.
This means that all customers who have a data limit on their plan will have access to unlimited data usage.
Today’s announcement also means that all those on unlimited plans will have the 80GB fair usage policy removed.
However, the unlimited access to data on both Virgin Media plans is not indefinite and will run until July 18th of this year.
The reasons behind the move
The move by Virgin Mobile was taken to support mobile customers who rely on their smartphones and data plans in order to stay connected.
Compared to 2019 Virgin Mobile customers relied on their smartphones more than ever due to the nationwide restrictions, with mobile data usage on the network increasing by a staggering 47%.
The mobile side of things was not the only one which registered an increase in use, Virgin Media also registered an 84% increase in the amount of information consumed by its broadband customers as they transitioned towards working from home.
Paul Higgins, Vice President of Commercial at Virgin Media said they hope the unlimited data allowance will help those who rely on their data plans to stay connected.
With the removal of any sort of data caps for our Virgin Mobile customers, today’s announcement should really help those who have come to rely on their phones to stay connected.
The removal of the data limits and Fair Usage Policy from our mobile plans means you don’t have to worry about using up all your data on video calls, streaming apps or web browsing while we all do our best to stay at home.
Staying connected, informed, and entertained is more important than ever, and despite the additional demand and challenges we’ve faced last year, our network has played a key role in keeping the country connected to the things and people that matter most.
Paul Higgins, Vice President of Commercial at Virgin Media
A look at fair usage caps
For customers already on unlimited data plans, some may be dismayed to hear that they hadn’t actually been truly 'unlimited' as a fair usage policy applies. Most providers would be the same in this regard.
Customers who are on an unlimited plan from Virgin Mobile will of course have the fair usage policy lifted from today, running until July 18th 2021.
If you’re curious about switching to a separate provider however, especially for SIM only plans, GoMo currently offers unlimited data with a fair usage cap of 120GB.
Meanwhile, mobile provider 48 only offers a download allowance of up to 100GB a month.
It's also worth mentioning that Virgin Mobile and all other providers have another new player to contend with - Clear Mobile. The new, low-cost, online-only mobile brand from Vodafone is also offering unlimited data with no fair usage cap.
If you’re on the market for a new mobile plan be sure to compare all your options by weighing up the pros and cons of each before putting pen to paper, as they say.
Explore all of your options
To help you evaluate your options, we broke down the best SIM-only deals currently on offer from Ireland’s leading mobile networks.
Cost is a huge factor when choosing a mobile plan, however there are other things to take into consideration. Here are 10 other important factors to keep in mind when making your choice.
If you’re curious about what mobile providers offer 5G services, check out this blog where we outline what 5G plans are currently on offer from Irish providers.
Use our free comparison tool to compare mobile phone, broadband and TV deals in your local area to find a deal that best suits your needs.
What do you think?
Are you a customer of Virgin Mobile? What do you make of the latest news around unlimited data? Is there better value out there? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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