Virgin Media social tariff

beyondthestars

My mum is on pension credit. Paying £51 a month for M350 broadband and talk. I've found out the social tariff is very cheap. Does the broadband work to an acceptable standard ? The social tariff speed seems very slow ?

la531983

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6683498/virgin-media-social-tariff

How slow is "slow"?

I suspect you over estimate what your mother is actually doing on the Internet and she might not actually need high speeds.

flaneurs_lobster

In case anyone wants to see the details of VM's 'social tariff'

https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/low-income-families

I'd say that 15Mbps (the speed of the cheapest offered tariff) would be OK if your mum's use was limited to email and (text-based) social media.

Anything involving watching video or streaming would struggle at that speed, likely to buffer and be very annoying.

The 54Mbps level would be fine.

Woodstok2000

The broadband speed may seem slow when compared to other packages, but it really depends who is using it and what they are doing. Most broadband packages these days are way beyond what's actually required. We have 2 adults working from home and a gamer child, we recently dropped from 500 mbps to 250mbps and didn't even notice the change.

For example, 4k streaming (e.g. on youtube) will work on 20mbps no problem, so a social tariff with an estimated speed of 54mbps will be more than fine. Is she a gamer? Do other people in the house use the broadband?

Detail_Merchant

Just as an example, here is what Google / YouTube say re video and speed needed

From https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/78358?hl=en-GB

Video resolution	Recommended sustained speed
4K UHD	20 Mbps
HD 1080p	5 Mbps
HD 720p	2.5 Mbps
SD 480p	1.1 Mbps
SD 360p	0.7 Mbps

iniltous

Given the OP’s relative currently has ‘talk’ it’s reasonable to assume keeping telephony is required and the link provided to VM social tariffs doesn’t mention a telephone service , presumably you would need to check if that can be added and what the costs are for doing so , as stated the 54Mb broadband will be adequate for most everyone apart from intensive users or very busy households.

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82138494#Comment_82138494

Good point, the legal stuff link says no to a landline.

If you currently receive TV or landline services from us, these services will be terminated if and when you transfer to an Essential broadband plan. You’ll need to ensure you have an alternative method of making calls, such as a mobile. If you rely on your landline for emergency calls, telehealth alarms or care devices (or other services that are supported by your landline) an Essential broadband plan may not be right for you at this time.

https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/essential-broadband

AndyPK

Vodafone is worth looking at.
fast 74 and phone

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139195#Comment_82139195

It's going to depend on the length of the VM contract left, £51 for M350 & Talk looks like it's out of minimum term but the full price is getting on for double that.

If they've got an Openreach line available both Vodafone & EE are (I believe) only £12 a month, BT cost £15 but includes free UK landline calls which could be worth much more than the additional £3 a month.

Sky costs £20 a month for a 24 month contract (but no exit fees so effectively rolling monthly) with PAYG calls, if needed they do a free 5GB, mobile sim with UL calls & texts and includes their piggybank to roll over unused data (this is for a one off non-renewable 12 months though).

(I've not explicitly checked each of the above deals for the latest updates)

ididgetwhereiamtoday

The so called social tariffs do not seem like value for money at all as there are some great discounts available on normal packages. As stated above, we also have 1gb broadband from Sky for £20.