On the 4th of July 2006, Virgin Mobile lost its independence as NTL completed a £962 million take over of the the mobile operator, and with that single stroke the combined company became the UK’s first quadruple play company offering television, phone, broadband and mobile services.
On the 8th of February 2007, NTL and Virgin Mobile complete a rebranding exercise which sees themselves emerge as Virgin Media.
Verdict so far
After looking around the newly launched Virgin Media site, my first impressions aren’t great; The entire site seems to be written in small print. There is a bewildering array of package options, with confusing add-ons and special offers. The package names are pretty naff “M, L, XL, Very Impressive, Very Impressive complete”. The prices are confusing (Q: how much does it cost to add sky movies and sports? A: £37, £31, £23.50 depending on the size of your TV package).
Value for money
Looking at the prices, if you wanted to go for the full triple play package of Sky with Movies and Sports + Phone + Broadband, then comparing Virgin to Sky:
Virgin Media – Full TV + Phone + Broadband = £61 per month*
Sky – Full TV + Phone + Broadband = £59.50
* based on 3 for £30 plus movies and sports package @ £31
So sky wins on this comparison. What I would really like to see is them doing something a little innovative. How about a mobile / sip hybrid product like BT’s Fusion phone, or even some IPTV.