SKY vs Virgin Media

Chrissybh0y

ellives wrote: »

Just doing this myself.

Bear in mind if you have no BT line (which is needed for Sky) you may have to pay the full connection fee of approx. £125. Having said this it is much more likely that you can get it connected for £29.35 (which I did and the engineer is fitting this morning - fingers crossed), but you'll have to sign up to an 18 months contract (with a monthly fee of £10.50ish for free evening and weekend calls and paperless billing with BT).

FYI - a simple reconnection (of an existing line in good order) is free.

I managed to get the very recent Sky plus box, free fitting, cashback, M&S vouchers and basic tv for £16.50 per month.

As an existing o2 customer I get a pretty good discount off of their broadband fees, and they come highly rated, so that's where I'm going next, again, BT phone line needed here too.

All in all, tv, phone and broadband for approx. £36/m and some cashback etc along the way!

To be honest I had a bloody good deal with Virgin and so this will only match what I was getting, but I felt like a change and if it goes pearshaped then it's a lesson learned.

Good luck.

I would stay away from o2 the now well there broadband anyway i had an awful 2 months of subzero speeds i would go to the o2forums http://forum.o2.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=12 and check that out there are alot of angry customers there also, i was with sky at my old house and didnt have a problem then moved and could only get o2 or bt, o2 being the cheapest, now sky is available ive been connected for 2 days here now and not one problem

Dusty_Bin_3

easyhome wrote: »

hi all,

We have Virgin broadband and phone at the moment, with sky TV.

We're looking to swap to one provider to save money, we're happy with the ntl phone and net but we've tried their tv before and i cannot get on with it.

So, it looks like we are going to swap to Sky for the net and phone, do's anyone have any opinions to offer? :-)

TIA

james

I am looking to do the same and currently have the following:

Broadband - Virgin up to 8Mb - £17.99 per month (paid for by my work)
Satellite - Sky+ All packages including Sports and Movies - £45 per month
BT - Unlimited Anytime Calls (plus Call Minder) - £18.50 per month

All in £81.49 per month.

My broadband is pretty slow due to distance from exchange so may look at upgrading to VM Fibre optic from VM ADSL, but cannot see any option to do this on the VM website (using the existing customer links).

I do like Sky+ and I assume that V+ is VM's equivalent? Not sure I fancy paying a £99 installation charge though?

jhp

Dusty_Bin wrote: »

My broadband is pretty slow due to distance from exchange so may look at upgrading to VM Fibre optic from VM ADSL, but cannot see any option to do this on the VM website (using the existing customer links).

Your on Virgin Media (Non Cable).

If your not in a VM cabled area you cant get Virgin Media (Cable),their Fibre Optic Service.

BexTech

Dusty_Bin wrote: »

I am looking to do the same and currently have the following:

Broadband - Virgin up to 8Mb - £17.99 per month (paid for by my work)
Satellite - Sky+ All packages including Sports and Movies - £45 per month
BT - Unlimited Anytime Calls (plus Call Minder) - £18.50 per month

All in £81.49 per month.

My broadband is pretty slow due to distance from exchange so may look at upgrading to VM Fibre optic from VM ADSL, but cannot see any option to do this on the VM website (using the existing customer links).

I do like Sky+ and I assume that V+ is VM's equivalent? Not sure I fancy paying a £99 installation charge though?

VM ADSL and VM Cable are still run as two separate businesses.

If you are in a cable area, then you need to apply as a new customer and if taking the cable phone line you can transfer the number.

The V+ is VM's version of the Sky+HD (same functions as the Sky+ just with HD too), however currently there is only one HD channel on cable and a handful of HD VOD. The box is slow and clunky, but does have 3 tuners instead of Sky's 2 and you do get VOD. If you have the XL TV package there is no monthly charge for the V+.

I'd have thought if cable was available in your area you would have already been on it and not have bothered with ADSL.

Dusty_Bin_3

BexTech wrote: »

VM ADSL and VM Cable are still run as two separate businesses.

If you are in a cable area, then you need to apply as a new customer and if taking the cable phone line you can transfer the number.

The V+ is VM's version of the Sky+HD (same functions as the Sky+ just with HD too), however currently there is only one HD channel on cable and a handful of HD VOD. The box is slow and clunky, but does have 3 tuners instead of Sky's 2 and you do get VOD. If you have the XL TV package there is no monthly charge for the V+.

I'd have thought if cable was available in your area you would have already been on it and not have bothered with ADSL.

Thanks for that, I'll have a look at the Bundles VM are offering at the moment. I may get a better deal if I am seen as a "new customer".

I've had ADSL broadband with Virgin since before they took over NTL and began offering cable.

spaceman5

Dusty_Bin wrote: »

I've had ADSL broadband with Virgin since before they took over NTL and began offering cable.

But do you live in a street where cable is already in place, as i doubt very much they would come and dig up the whole street to lay the cable just for one customer, Dave

Dusty_Bin_3

spaceman5 wrote: »

But do you live in a street where cable is already in place, as i doubt very much they would come and dig up the whole street to lay the cable just for one customer, Dave

Yes, we definitely have cable in place in the street already, both my neighbours are on it.

MoneyMiser

Both Virgin Media and Sky have their good and bad points it just depends on the person who it is for.

I currently have VM for TV, BB, and Phone. The BB is far superior to any ADSL connection and is only going to get better. With the fibre optic cables already in place we can be enjoying up to 100Mb speeds in the near future. This will take BT years to replicate and a lot of expense so expect the cost of line rental and calls going up, AGAIN!

Some would argue that Sky TV is better than VM TV and to an extent they have a point. Sky TV has the red button to go all interactive, with different shows but mainly football. Its one of the things I miss actually, being able to select which footbal game I watch on Football First. Both companies are now friends again and offer all the same channels, but VM has TV on Demand. For people who dont know what this is, its pretty much a database of loads of programes raging from kids tv, documentaries, drama's and loads more which you can select to watch any time you want. Also it has a list of music videos from a wide range of artists that can also be viewed any time. There is a karaoke option which can also be fun.

Personally I am a big BB user so for me I would never go back to BT and VM are the company for me. The choice, as they say, is yours

MM

spamberler

I just moved from O2 BB to sky with the latest deal that was on. Cant fault O2 BB though however sky BBis free with sky talk so moved to save on the pennies and SKY isnt bad.

robo999

Ok i`m thinking about going back to sky , am i in a position to barter
also whats the general thoughts with sky towards Virgin as in value and set up cost.
I have a sky + box already