By Ken Lo July 3rd, 2022
Virgin Media offers business broadband on a choice of Voom Fibre plans including Voom 400, Voom 600, Voom 800 & Voom Gig1.
In the UK, Virgin Media offers Voom fibre broadband plans for business, with download speeds of up to 1,000Mbps (1Gbps). The Voom plans start from £33 per month (exc VAT) and include a business SLA along with specialised support. You can add Instant Connect to get online before your fibre broadband is installed, along with Constant Connect to stay connected with 4G broadband backup.
In this article, we’ll review Virgin Media’s business broadband plans. We’ll look at the features included on each Voom Fibre plan, along with the cheaper Essential Business Internet which is available for just £25 per month (exc VAT). We’ll also look at what you’re able to do with the download speeds available, and the optional add-ons like Instant Connect and Constant Connect.
| Prices From: | £25 per month (Essential Business Internet, exc VAT) £33 per month (Voom Fibre, exc VAT) |
|---|---|
| Contract Length: | 24 months |
| Download Speed: | 400Mbps (Voom 400) 600Mbps (Voom 600) 800Mbps (Voom 800) 1,000Mbps (Voom Gig1) 100Mbps (Essential Business Internet) |
| Upload Speed: | 40Mbps (Voom 400, 600 & 800) 50Mbps (Voom Gig1) 10Mbps (Essential Business Internet) |
| Coverage: | 53% of UK premises Check your postcode here |
In the UK, Virgin Media currently offers a choice of five business broadband plans. They start from £33 per month for Voom Fibre, or £25 per month for Essential Business Internet. You’ll get download speeds between 100Mbps and 1,000Mbps (1Gbps), depending on the plan you choose.
The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of Virgin Media’s business broadband plans:
| Voom 400 | Voom 600 | Voom 800 | Voom Gig1 | Essential Business Internet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price (exc VAT): | £33 per month | £42 per month | £51 per month | £60 per month | £25 per month |
| Download Speed: | Up to 400Mbps | Up to 600Mbps | Up to 800Mbps | Up to 1000Mbps | Up to 100Mbps |
| Upload Speed: | Up to 40Mbps | Up to 40Mbps | Up to 40Mbps | Up to 50Mbps | Up to 10Mbps |
| Contract Length: | 24 months | 24 months | 24 months | 24 months | 24 months |
| Plan Features | |||||
| Dynamic IP: | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Static IP: | Add £10/month | 1 static IP | 5 static IPs | 5 static IPs | Not available |
| SLA: | 24 working hours | 16 working hours | 16 working hours | 12 working hours | 48 working hours |
| Instant Connect (4G Start-Up): | £40 per month (pro-rated) | £40 per month (pro-rated) | £40 per month (pro-rated) | £40 per month (pro-rated) | £40 per month (pro-rated) |
| Constant Connect (4G Backup): | Add £7/month | Add £7/month | Add £7/month | Add £7/month | No |
| Technology | |||||
| Router: | Hitron Chita | Hitron Chita | Hitron Chita | Hitron Chita | Hitron Chita |
| Technology: | Cable | Cable | Cable | Cable | Cable |
| Availability: | 53% of UK premises Check postcode | 53% of UK premises Check postcode | 53% of UK premises Check postcode | 53% of UK premises Check postcode | 53% of UK premises Check postcode |
Normally, an installation charge of £50 will apply to each site when your business broadband service is installed. This may be higher if it’s a complex installation, in which case excess construction charges may also apply.
Virgin Media’s business SLA is based on working hours on working days. According to Virgin Media Business, “Working days [are] comprised of Monday to Saturday excluding Bank and Public Holidays; and working hours [are] Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm/Saturday 8am to 4pm”.
In the following section, we’ll look at the five plans in more detail.
Virgin Media’s entry-level Voom Fibre plan is known as Voom 400 Fibre Business Broadband. With download speeds of up to 400Mbps and upload speeds of up to 40Mbps, it’s fast enough for streaming 4K (Ultra HD) video on up 16 devices at the same time. You’ll also get a SLA for 24 working hours resolution.
At present, you’ll pay £33 per month for Voom 400 Fibre Broadband only. Alternatively, you can upgrade to the Voom 400 Bundle at £40 per month. This also gives you a phone line with unlimited UK calls and Constant Connect for 4G broadband back-up.
| Plan | Broadband Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voom 400 | Up to 400Mbps download Up to 40Mbps upload | 24 month contract | £50 | £33/month |
| Voom 400 bundle | Up to 400Mbps download Up to 40Mbps upload (plus unlimited UK calls & Constant Connect) | 24 month contract | £50 | £40/month |
If you want a static IP address on Voom 400, this will cost you an extra £10 per month. If this is the case, you’ll typically be better off choosing Voom 600 instead. That’ll cost you an extra £9 per month but the package will include a static IP address at no extra cost. You’ll also benefit from faster speeds and a shorter SLA on Voom 600.
If you upgrade to Voom 600 Fibre Business Broadband, you’ll get download speeds of up to 600Mbps and upload speeds of up to 50Mbps. This is fast enough for streaming 4K (Ultra HD) video on up to 24 devices at the same time. You’ll also get a static IP address included if you want one. There’s also a shorter SLA of 16 working hours for problems to be resolved.
You’ll pay £42 per month for Voom 600 Fibre Broadband on its own. Alternatively, it’s £49 per month if you want to upgrade to the Voom 600 bundle. Alongside your fibre broadband service, this gives you a phone line with unlimited UK calls. You’ll also get Constant Connect 4G broadband backup.
| Plan | Broadband Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voom 600 | Up to 600Mbps download Up to 50Mbps upload | 24 month contract | £50 | £42/month |
| Voom 600 bundle | Up to 600Mbps download Up to 50Mbps upload (plus unlimited UK calls & Constant Connect) | 24 month contract | £50 | £49/month |
For even faster download speeds, you can upgrade to Voom 800 Fibre Business Broadband. This comes with download speeds of up to 800Mbps – enough for streaming 4K (Ultra HD) video on up to 32 devices at the same time. You’ll get an upload speed of up to 50Mbps with a 16 working hour SLA and up to 5 static IP addresses included.
It costs £51 per month to get Voom 800 Fibre Broadband, or £58 per month if you want to upgrade this to the Voom 800 bundle. The latter also includes a phone line with unlimited UK calls and Constant Connect for 4G broadband backup.
| Plan | Broadband Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voom 800 | Up to 800Mbps download Up to 50Mbps upload | 24 month contract | £50 | £51/month |
| Voom 800 bundle | Up to 800Mbps download Up to 50Mbps upload (plus unlimited UK calls & Constant Connect) | 24 month contract | £50 | £58/month |
Virgin Media’s fastest broadband plan for businesses is Voom Gig1 Fibre Business Broadband. It gives you download speeds of up to 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) – enough for streaming 4K (Ultra HD) video on up to 40 devices at the same time. It comes with a shorter 12 hour working SLA, and up to 5 static IP addresses if required.
You’ll pay £60 per month for Voom Gig1 Fibre Broadband, or £67 per month for the Voom Gig1 bundle. The bundle comes with a phone line and unlimited UK calls, along with the Constant Connect 4G broadband backup service.
| Plan | Broadband Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voom Gig1 | Up to 1,000Mbps download Up to 50Mbps upload | 24 month contract | £50 | £60/month |
| Voom Gig1 bundle | Up to 1,000Mbps download Up to 50Mbps upload (plus unlimited UK calls & Constant Connect) | 24 month contract | £50 | £67/month |
Finally, if you don’t need the faster speeds available on Voom Fibre, you can get the cheaper Essential Business Internet plan for just £25 per month (exc VAT). Also known as “Essential 100 Fibre Business Broadband”, it gives you download speeds of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds of up to 10Mbps.
| Plan | Broadband Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential Business Internet | Up to 100Mbps download Up to 10Mbps upload | 24 month contract | £50 | £25/month |
| Essential Business bundle | Up to 100Mbps download Up to 10Mbps upload (plus unlimited UK calls) | 24 month contract | £50 | £32/month |
On Essential Business Internet, there’s no option to have a static IP address (this might be required if you’re running your own server, or for certain things like remote access to your premises CCTV system). You’ll also get an SLA of 48 working hours, compared to the 24 working hour SLA on Voom 400.
You’ll get a static IP address included on Voom 600, Voom 800 and Voom Gig1. This is handy if you’re running your own server (such as a web server, email server, VPN or FTP). Sometimes, a static IP address may also be required for security and to enable remote access to systems like your premises CCTV.
On the Voom 800 and Voom Gig1 plans, you’ll get up to 5 static IP addresses included.
All of Virgin Media’s business broadband plans come with a service level agreement (SLA) for faults that occur with your broadband service.
The SLA is measured in working hours to resolution:
It’s important to note that the SLA is measured over working hours, as opposed to clockface hours. According to Virgin Media: “working days [are] comprised of Monday to Saturday excluding Bank and Public Holidays; and working hours [are] Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm/Saturday 8am to 4pm”.
To give an example, if your broadband service stopped working at 8am on Monday and you had a SLA of 24 working hours, this would take you up until mid-day on Wednesday for the problem to be resolved (as there are 10 working hours in a weekday).
When you sign up to Virgin Media Business, it can sometimes take a little bit of time to get the service installed (e.g. if you need to wait for an engineer visit). If you want to get online straight away before the service is installed, you can add the Instant Connect service.
With Instant Connect, you’ll get a 4G start-up dongle that plugs into your hub. It’ll give you unlimited 4G broadband whilst you’re waiting for the fibre broadband service to be installed. The charge for this service is £40 per month, pro-rated based on the amount of time you need it. For instance, if you use the Instant Connect service for 15 days before Voom Fibre is installed, you’ll need to pay £20 for it.
If you choose a Voom bundle for an extra £7 per month, you’ll get 4G broadband backup through Virgin Media’s Constant Connect service.
With Constant Connect, you’ll get a 4G dongle that plugs in to your Hub. If there’s a fault with your fibre broadband service, the 4G connection will kick in automatically to keep you online. It does this by making use of O2’s 4G network and you’ll continue getting unlimited data when you’re connected to 4G. The backup connection is also used to send an alert to Virgin Media’s fault team so they can look into the problem with your connection.
The Constant Connect 4G service provides a dynamic IP connection only. It only supports backing up your broadband service and it will not backup your voice service.
All of Virgin Media’s business broadband plans now include the Hitron Chita Wi-Fi router. This connects to the Virgin Media network and produces a Wi-Fi network from it that your devices are able to connect to. In addition, you’ll get 4 Gigabit Ethernet sockets for connecting wired devices to your business network.
The following table shows the technical specifications of the Hitron Chita router:
| Hitron Chita | ||
|---|---|---|
| Availability | ||
| Broadband Plans: | Voom 400 Voom 600 Voom 800 Voom Gig1 Essential Business Internet | |
| Connectivity | ||
| Dual-Band Wi-Fi: | Yes | |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity: | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wave 2) | |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi: | 3×3 MIMO (up to 600Mbps) | |
| 5GHz Wi-Fi: | 4×4 MIMO (up to 1,733Mbps) | |
| Guest Wi-Fi: | Yes | |
| Ethernet: | 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports | |
| Other: | DOCSIS 3.1 WPA3 / WPA2 / WPA security Built-in firewall Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) enabled | |
| Other | ||
| Dimensions: | 6.5 x 24.0 x 21.0 cm | |
| Weight: | 865g | |
| Colour: | Black | |
| More Information: | Virgin Media Business Website | |
For more information about the Hitron Chita router and how to set it up, please see the Virgin Media Business website.
If you’re currently using another broadband provider, it’s easy switching your service to Virgin Media Business.
Start by ordering your new Virgin Media Business plan online. When you do this, you’ll be able to choose the installation date for your service. On that date, a Virgin Media engineer will normally come round to install the service. This is unless your premises has previously been connected to the Virgin Media network, in which case you may be able to install it yourself using a QuickStart kit.
You’ll need to tell your old broadband provider that you’re moving to Virgin Media Business, 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 provider in the UK.
