Since the start of the pandemic we have been tireless in our efforts to keep our customers and  people safe and ensure that the country stays connected.  

We know how important our services are right now to people’s everyday lives. We take that  responsibility seriously and are proud to step up and play our part in these tough times.  

Here’s what we’re doing. 

Keeping connected

Last year, we upgraded more than a million customers to ultrafast speeds and removed all remaining  caps on our broadband products, so everyone can use their home connectivity without any worries.  This now means almost all of our broadband customers have speeds of at least 100Mbps to work,  play, stream and keep in touch with friends and family. 

Our incredible engineers are also working around the clock to help maintain our network as usage  continues to rise more than ever before

The health and wellbeing of our people and customers is always our top priority, so we’re following  government and medical advice to put safety first while making sure we that we still help our  customers and connect households to our services. All of our procedures are continually reviewed  and updated with this in mind, and wherever possible we are helping customers remotely or  providing self-install packs. We’ve also put extra safety measures and checks in place before and  during any required customer visits.  

Giving a helping hand

We know that there are some people who need additional support during this difficult period and  we’re committed to helping them. 

As schools have closed and children are switching to remote learning once again, we understand this  is tough for many families. As well as having no caps on our broadband, we have, since last year,  worked with government to provide 20GB of extra mobile data for free to those who don’t have any  broadband connectivity and have limited mobile data. On top of this, as of last weekend, we are zero-rating access to the Oak National Academy learning resources for all schoolchildren and will  look at zero-rating access to other learning resources on request. Additionally, we already zero rate  a number of health and support sites such as the NHS app, Victim Support and the NSPCC website. 

Building on the many measures we already have in place, we have provided additional mobile data  and minutes for vulnerable customers and have ensured any issues are prioritised by our customer  service teams. We’re also offering assistance to these vulnerable customers who may have payment  concerns or are worried about their bill. 

Our Essential broadband plan has been launched too, which is available to those who receive Universal Credit. It delivers hassle-free, affordable and reliable connectivity to ensure those facing  financial difficulty can get online. 

Not forgetting our small and home business customers, we are supporting them through any  financial difficulties by offering a payment holiday or the option to take our reduced-cost Essential  Business product. 

Staying entertained

At the start of the pandemic we gave millions of our customers a whole host of extra TV  programming for free – from documentaries to comedy and drama. With another lockdown forcing  people back into their homes again, we are working with our content providers to give our TV line up another big boost and again offer a series of additional content to our customers at no extra cost  over the coming weeks. 

Standing with our NHS

The heroic work of NHS staff deserves true praise and recognition and we’re proud to keep  supporting them. We’re providing doctors, nurses and other NHS workers with free broadband  speed boosts as well as additional mobile data and minutes, and have helped many frontline  workers get online throughout the pandemic. Our Virgin Media Business teams have also supported hospitals, vaccination centres and other key public sites to make sure they have the connectivity and  tools needed. This is on top of assisting businesses with their shift to remote working and supporting  them as they have adapted to the new world we’re in. 

While there’s much more that is going on at Virgin Media, and across the industry, none of this  would be possible without the efforts and dedication of our people. From engineers and installers to  our customer service teams, these key workers are at the heart of making these good things happen. 

We will get through this pandemic and, as we have done since the start, we’ll keep stepping up to  keep the country connected, support our customers and help the nation to bounce back as we all  look ahead to brighter times.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media