Virgin Media Gig1 Fibre Broadband Review –

What You Get with Gig1

Virgin Media launched Gig1 in October 2019 as its flagship broadband package. It’s available across Virgin Media’s entire network—around 16 million UK premises—making it the most widely available gigabit broadband from a national provider.

The package delivers 1,130Mbps average download speeds and 104Mbps upload speeds. You get Virgin Media’s Hub 5 router with WiFi 6, plus WiFi Max included at no extra cost. WiFi Max guarantees at least 30Mbps in every room of your home and provides up to 3 WiFi Pods if needed, or a £100 credit if Virgin Media can’t meet that promise.

There’s no setup fee on current deals, unlimited data, and contracts are typically 18 or 24 months. The catch? Your monthly price increases by £3.50 every April (for contracts taken from 9 January 2025), and when your contract ends, you’ll face a substantial price jump unless you renegotiate or switch.

How Fast Is Gig1 Really?

With 1,130Mbps download speeds, Gig1 lets you download a 25GB 4K movie in under three minutes. You could run six simultaneous 4K streams (each needing around 25Mbps), multiple video conferences, and several gaming sessions without breaking a sweat.

Most users report actual speeds between 900-1,100Mbps during normal use, with some hitting the full 1,130Mbps during quiet periods. Virgin Media provides a personalised Minimum Guaranteed Download Speed when you order, calculated specifically for your address—there’s no single nationwide figure.

To put this in perspective, the UK’s average broadband speed hovers around 68Mbps. Gig1 is roughly 16 times faster. It’s also around 230Mbps quicker than BT’s Full Fibre 900 package and substantially ahead of most other national providers.

The Upload Speed Limitation

Upload speeds tell a different story. Gig1 offers 104Mbps upload on standard connections—perfectly adequate for most activities but feeling lopsided when you consider the download capability.

Video calls need 5-10Mbps. Streaming to Twitch in 1080p requires 6-8Mbps. For these typical uses, 104Mbps is plenty. But if you’re a content creator uploading video files, a photographer backing up RAW images, or someone sending large datasets regularly, 104Mbps can feel limiting. A 10GB file takes roughly 13 minutes to upload versus under 10 seconds to download.

There is an alternative: Virgin Media offers symmetrical 1,130Mbps upload speeds in areas with XGS-PON full fibre, available as a paid add-on. However, this option only exists where Virgin Media has deployed true fibre-to-the-premises—not on standard DOCSIS cable connections that most customers use. Availability remains limited to newer developments and selected upgraded areas.

Many full fibre altnets like Community Fibre and Hyperoptic offer equal upload and download speeds as standard, though their coverage is far more restricted.

Gaming and Latency

Latency—the delay between sending and receiving data—sits around 15-20ms on Gig1. This is fine for casual gaming and everyday multiplayer sessions. You won’t notice lag during normal play, and the connection feels responsive.

Competitive gamers who need every millisecond might prefer the sub-10ms latency that pure fibre-to-the-premises networks can achieve. The difference comes from Virgin Media’s network technology: most Gig1 customers connect via DOCSIS 3.1 (hybrid fibre-coax), which inherently introduces slightly more delay than pure fibre connections.

For downloading games, Gig1 excels. Modern titles often exceed 100GB, and having gigabit speeds cuts download times from hours to minutes.

The Technology Behind Your Connection

Virgin Media operates its own network independent of Openreach, which lets it offer faster speeds more widely. However, this network uses different technology depending on your location, and understanding this helps explain both the strengths and limitations.

Most Gig1 customers—the vast majority—connect via DOCSIS 3.1 technology. Fibre optic cables run to street cabinets, then coaxial copper cables complete the final stretch to your home. This hybrid approach delivers impressive speeds using existing cable infrastructure but introduces slightly higher latency than pure fibre.

Some areas receive RFoG (Radio Frequency over Glass), where fibre runs to your property boundary before connecting to coaxial cables inside your home. Performance is similar to standard DOCSIS.

A smaller number of premises—currently through Virgin Media’s nexfibre partnership and selected upgraded locations—get XGS-PON full fibre. This is true fibre-to-the-premises with the cable running directly to your router, offering symmetrical speeds up to 10Gbps, lower latency (often 5-10ms), and greater reliability. Only XGS-PON customers can add symmetrical upload speeds to Gig1.

Virgin Media is upgrading its entire network to XGS-PON by 2028, which will eliminate the DOCSIS limitations and deliver symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds across the board. The upgrade is underway, but most existing customers can’t yet access it—Virgin Media is initially offering XGS-PON to new customers in upgraded areas.

One common issue with DOCSIS connections is peak-time congestion. Because the network is shared among multiple users in your area, speeds can drop by 10-15% during busy evening periods (7-10pm) in heavily subscribed locations. Most users still get excellent speeds, but urban areas with high Virgin Media adoption seem more prone to this.

Virgin Media claims 99.88% network uptime, translating to around 10-11 hours of downtime per year on average. Most customers report reliable connections with occasional outages lasting a few hours rather than days.

Hub 5 Router and WiFi Coverage

Gig1 typically comes with Virgin Media’s Hub 5 router—their first with WiFi 6 support. Note that router models aren’t strictly tied to packages; Virgin Media supplies Hub 3, 4, or 5 depending on area and stock, though faster packages increasingly ship with the Hub 5.

WiFi 6 Makes a Difference

WiFi 6 (802.11ax) handles multiple devices better than older standards, offers faster speeds, and performs better in congested wireless environments. The Hub 5 supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, with seven internal antennas providing coverage throughout most homes.

If you have recent devices—smartphones from 2020 onwards, modern laptops, latest-generation consoles—you’ll notice the speed benefits. Older devices still work fine but won’t see the full WiFi 6 advantages.

The Hub 5 includes one 2.5Gbps Ethernet port and three standard 1Gbps Ethernet ports. The 2.5Gbps port lets you use Gig1’s full speed on wired connections, as standard 1Gbps ports max out around 940Mbps.

Virgin Media’s Intelligent WiFi technology automatically selects the least congested channels and manages device connections. Performance ultimately depends on your home layout and local interference, but the system handles most situations well.

WiFi Max: The Coverage Guarantee

WiFi Max is included with Gig1, Gig2, and Volt packages. Customers on other Virgin Media packages pay £8 per month for this feature. It guarantees at least 30Mbps download speed in every room, which sounds modest but ensures basic connectivity throughout your property.

Using the Virgin Media Connect app, you test speeds in each room. If any room falls below 30Mbps, you can request up to 3 WiFi Pods—mesh extenders that plug into power sockets. If the pods still don’t get you above 30Mbps everywhere, Virgin Media credits your account £100.

The pods create a mesh network using the same WiFi name, so devices seamlessly roam between the main router and extenders. Placement matters: position them halfway between the router and dead spots where they can still get a decent signal.

Using Your Own Router

The Hub 5 supports modem-only mode, letting you connect your own router if you prefer. This gives network enthusiasts flexibility to use their preferred hardware. The Hub 5x (used for Gig2 in XGS-PON areas) doesn’t currently offer modem mode.

Power users might find the Hub 5’s configuration options limited compared to high-end routers—no built-in VPN support, restricted QoS controls, limited customization. For most households though, the Hub 5 handles everything needed without fuss.

What Gig1 Actually Costs

Virgin Media’s pricing follows a familiar pattern: attractive introductory rates that increase during the contract, then jump sharply when your deal ends.

Promotional prices for Gig1 fluctuate based on current campaigns. Recent offers have ranged from the mid-£20s to around £40 per month for 24-month contracts. Setup fees are typically waived, saving you roughly £35.

The complication arrives with mid-contract increases. For residential contracts taken from 9 January 2025 onwards, Virgin Media adds a fixed £3.50 to your monthly price every April. Older contracts might still follow the previous RPI inflation plus 3.9% formula or different fixed amounts.

Over a 24-month contract, you’ll see two price rises. A package starting at £30 per month becomes £33.50 after the first April, then £37 after the second. Calculate the true average cost by adding up all 24 months and dividing by 24—don’t just trust the introductory rate.

When your contract ends, prices jump dramatically. Virgin Media’s current standard pricing shows Gig1 with a home phone around £94 per month, though exact out-of-contract rates vary. Check the basket when ordering for current figures. The key point: never let your contract lapse without taking action.

Set a calendar reminder one month before your contract ends. Either negotiate a new deal with Virgin Media’s retention team (threatening to switch often helps) or actually switch to a competitor. Customer reports on negotiation success vary widely—some get decent retention deals, others face frustratingly poor offers.

Bundle Options

Virgin Media often bundles Netflix Standard with Ads at no extra cost, worth £5.99 per month if you were subscribing anyway. Adding a home phone line costs extra and includes free weekend calls to UK landlines and mobiles, though few people get much value from landlines in 2025.

TV bundles range from basic packages to comprehensive options with Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, and premium channels. They can offer better value than buying services separately but significantly increase your monthly outlay.

Volt benefits apply if you have an O2 mobile contract. You get a broadband speed boost to the next package level, double mobile data on eligible O2 plans, and WiFi Max included at no extra cost. Volt can deliver genuine value for O2 customers, though benefits vary and there’s no fixed “extra 6GB SIM” as standard.

Is Gig1 Worth the Money?

Whether Gig1 offers good value depends on what you need and what else is available at your address.

When Gig1 Makes Sense

Large households with 5+ people online simultaneously will appreciate the bandwidth. Multiple 4K streams, gaming, video calls, and large downloads happening at once—Gig1 handles it without breaking stride. The difference between 500Mbps and 1,130Mbps becomes meaningful when many devices compete for capacity.

Serious gamers benefit from rapid downloads. A 100GB game that takes hours on slower connections downloads in 10-15 minutes on Gig1. If you regularly download large games or updates, the time saving adds up.

Content creators and remote workers uploading large files get value from the 104Mbps upload speeds, or can add symmetrical speeds in XGS-PON areas. Home offices with multiple video conferences while other family members use the connection won’t see any slowdown.

There’s also the future-proofing angle. Internet usage increases over time. Committing to a multi-year Gig1 contract means you’re unlikely to outgrow your connection as 8K content, larger downloads, and new bandwidth-hungry applications emerge.

When M500 Would Do

For smaller households—1-3 people—500Mbps rarely gets stressed. Even multiple simultaneous 4K streams and typical usage won’t max out Virgin Media’s M500 package (516Mbps), which costs less.

If your household primarily browses, streams, and uses social media without heavy gaming, content creation, or large file transfers, you won’t notice the difference between 500Mbps and 1,130Mbps in everyday use. Budget-conscious customers might prefer M500’s lower monthly cost, with the option to upgrade mid-contract if needed.

Virgin Media makes upgrading from M500 to Gig1 easy but downgrading is harder and often penalized. If you’re uncertain whether you need gigabit speeds, starting with M500 carries less risk than overpaying for Gig1 from day one.

How Gig1 Compares to Alternatives

BT and EE

BT’s Full Fibre 900 delivers around 900Mbps download and 110Mbps upload. Virgin Media’s 1,130Mbps beats this by roughly 230Mbps (around 25% faster), while upload speeds are virtually identical at 104Mbps versus 110Mbps.

Virgin Media typically comes in cheaper than BT at promotional rates, though BT often includes reward cards worth £100-£150 that offset higher monthly costs over the contract period. BT’s Smart Hub 2 uses WiFi 5 rather than the Hub 5’s WiFi 6, making Virgin Media’s router superior for wireless performance.

The major difference: BT uses Openreach’s full fibre (FTTP) network where Full Fibre 900 is available, delivering lower latency than Virgin Media’s DOCSIS. However, Openreach Full Fibre isn’t available everywhere Virgin Media operates.

Customer service is BT’s advantage. BT consistently rates higher than Virgin Media for support quality. If responsive customer service matters to you, BT’s reputation might outweigh Virgin Media’s speed advantage.

EE offers similar packages using Openreach infrastructure, typically priced around BT’s level or slightly higher. All EE customers get the Smart Hub Plus with WiFi 6, matching the Hub 5’s wireless capability. EE also offers 1.6Gbps packages in areas with Openreach XGS-PON, though these cost considerably more.

Alternative Networks

If you’re lucky enough to have altnet coverage, they often beat Virgin Media on technology:

Community Fibre (parts of London) offers 3Gbps symmetrical for around £49 per month—almost triple Gig1’s speed with far better upload performance, for similar money. Their customer service ratings exceed Virgin Media’s too.

Hyperoptic (London-focused) offers 1Gbps symmetrical for around £35 per month. Equal upload and download speeds make this genuinely superior for upload-intensive users, at excellent pricing. Availability is limited to specific buildings though.

CityFibre partners (including Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen) offer gigabit packages with varying prices and speeds by retailer. Symmetrical speeds and superior latency are common advantages, but availability remains far more limited than Virgin Media.

The challenge: altnets collectively reach only a small fraction of UK premises. Where they exist, they often offer better technology at competitive prices. Where they don’t—which is most of the UK—Gig1 is the fastest option from a major provider.

Three’s 5G Home Broadband at £22 per month with no contract offers an entirely different approach. Speeds vary between 50-600Mbps depending on location and mobile network conditions—far more variable than fixed lines. It’s cheap and flexible, ideal for renters or as a backup connection, but won’t satisfy the needs that drive someone to consider Gig1.

Customer Service

Virgin Media’s customer service reputation is genuinely poor, and this might be the biggest reason to think twice about Gig1 regardless of its technical strengths.

Which? named Virgin Media the worst major broadband provider for customer service in 2024, with a satisfaction score of just 38 out of 100. Ofcom data from late 2024 showed Virgin Media generating 50% more complaints per 100,000 customers than the industry average.

Trustpilot reviews average around 1.3 stars from thousands of customers. Common themes: long wait times, unhelpful call center staff, difficulty canceling service, billing errors, general frustration.

Specific complaints include customers spending hours trying to cancel, being transferred between departments, facing pressure to stay. Billing issues feature prominently—disputed charges, promised credits that never arrive, unexplained price changes, being billed for services not ordered.

Missed engineer appointments and long waits for technical visits appear frequently. Some customers report taking time off work for narrow appointment windows, then having engineers not show up without notice.

Call center representatives often follow scripts inflexibly, lack technical knowledge, or can’t resolve issues without escalating to senior staff. Hold times of 30+ minutes seem common outside normal business hours.

Contract renewal challenges frustrate existing customers who struggle to get competitive retention offers. Some report being quoted prices far above what new customers pay for identical services, with representatives unwilling to match new customer deals.

It’s not all negative. Some customers report excellent experiences, particularly with installation and actual service quality. When things go well—service installed promptly, broadband performs as expected, no issues arise—there’s little reason to contact support.

The technical side (network performance, speed, reliability) receives far better ratings than the customer-facing side, suggesting problems lie in support processes and training rather than infrastructure.

Virgin Media participates in Ofcom’s Automatic Compensation scheme. You receive automatic payments for service failures without needing to request them: £9.98 per day for complete service loss after the first two days, £6.24 per day for delayed installation, £31.19 for each missed engineer appointment (rates as of July 2025).

Practical advice: document everything, keep chat transcripts and email correspondence, get reference numbers for every interaction, set calendar reminders for appointments and contract end dates. Use written channels like WhatsApp chat to create a paper trail. If you’re not getting satisfaction, Virgin Media’s formal complaints procedure followed by Ombudsman escalation can sometimes unlock better resolutions.

If you’re comfortable managing your own service, rarely need support, and can handle occasional frustrations, poor customer service might not matter much. If you value responsive, helpful support and want the peace of mind of knowing help is available when needed, Virgin Media’s track record is a legitimate concern.

Installation and Getting Started

New Virgin Media customers typically need an engineer visit, particularly if the property hasn’t had Virgin Media before. The engineer runs cable from the nearest street cabinet to your home (possibly drilling external walls or threading through existing ducts), installs an outlet box inside, connects your Hub, activates the service, and tests everything. The process usually takes 1-2 hours.

If Virgin Media cabling already exists from previous installations, you might get offered QuickStart self-install. Virgin Media sends you the Hub 5 router (you can collect via Yodel Collect+ pick-up points), and you connect it yourself to the existing outlet. This takes 15-20 minutes and avoids needing to be home for an engineer.

Setup involves using the Virgin Media Connect app to configure WiFi (or use the printed defaults on the router), connecting devices via WiFi or Ethernet cable, testing WiFi Max speeds if wanted, and configuring Web Safe parental controls if needed. The Hub 5’s interface is simple and designed for non-technical users.

Virgin Media participates in One Touch Switch (launched 12 September 2024), which simplifies switching providers. You order Virgin Media service, and they handle contacting your existing provider, managing the switch-over, and minimizing downtime.

Additional Features

Virgin Media broadband customers can access Priority from O2 via the Priority app, even without an O2 mobile plan. This loyalty programme offers early ticket access to concerts and events, discount vouchers, occasional freebies. Value varies by interests.

Web Safe parental controls are included free, letting you filter content and manage children’s internet access. It’s basic compared to dedicated parental control software but adequate for many families.

Virgin Media offers F-Secure SAFE as a paid add-on for additional security covering multiple devices—antivirus protection, password management, banking protection. Whether you need this depends on your existing security setup.

Virgin Media operates public WiFi hotspots in various locations (train stations, shops, public spaces) that customers can access free to save mobile data.

Who Benefits Most from Gig1

For couples or individuals, Gig1 is generally overkill unless you have specific needs. Professional content creators regularly uploading large files, serious gamers downloading 100GB+ games frequently, or tech enthusiasts who want the fastest available connection will find value. Most single-person or couple households won’t notice much difference from 500Mbps in everyday use.

Medium households (3-5 people) start seeing genuine benefits. Multiple people online simultaneously—two working from home on video calls, one teenager gaming, another streaming—adds up quickly. Gig1 provides capacity so everyone can do bandwidth-intensive activities without affecting others.

Large households (6+ people) or house shares get excellent value from Gig1. When multiple people are all online doing their own thing, gigabit speeds prevent the “who’s hogging the bandwidth” arguments. Large households also accumulate more smart devices—security cameras, smart speakers, streaming devices in multiple rooms—that collectively eat into available capacity.

Smart home enthusiasts building comprehensive connected homes with dozens of devices benefit from Gig1’s combination of speed and the Hub 5’s WiFi 6, which handles large numbers of simultaneous connections better than older routers.

Final Thoughts

Virgin Media Gig1 delivers genuinely fast broadband—1,130Mbps that handles anything you throw at it. The Hub 5 with WiFi 6, WiFi Max guarantee included, and competitive promotional pricing make the technical package excellent for households needing serious bandwidth.

For large households, gaming enthusiasts, or anyone wanting to future-proof their connection, Gig1 makes genuine sense. It’s the fastest widely available option from a major UK provider, and performance lives up to the claims.

However, significant drawbacks exist. Virgin Media’s customer service reputation is consistently poor—you may struggle to get help when issues arise. Mid-contract price increases and steep out-of-contract costs mean you need to actively manage your contract to avoid overpaying. Upload speeds feel unbalanced compared to impressive downloads, especially when altnets offer symmetrical speeds for similar money.

Most Gig1 customers connect via DOCSIS (hybrid fibre coax) rather than pure FTTP, meaning slightly higher latency and occasional congestion issues. Virgin Media’s commitment to upgrade everything to XGS-PON by 2028 promises improvement, but you’re committing to current technology.

Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

Gig1 earns a strong recommendation for the right customer: someone in a large household who needs maximum bandwidth, can tolerate occasional customer service frustrations, and will actively manage contract renewals. It’s the fastest widely available option and delivers impressive performance.

Smaller households should seriously consider whether M500 would suffice, potentially saving money without noticeably impacting everyday experience. Anyone with access to quality altnets (Community Fibre, Hyperoptic) should evaluate those alternatives—better technology at competitive prices often makes them superior despite Virgin Media’s speed advantage.

Customer service concerns are real. If you anticipate needing support regularly or want reassurance of responsive service, paying slightly more for BT or EE might prove worthwhile despite slower speeds.

Virgin Media Gig1 is an excellent product hampered by a support organization that struggles to match the technical infrastructure quality. For users confident managing their service independently and navigating contract renewals effectively, it offers good value for genuine gigabit speeds. For everyone else, proceed with eyes open to both benefits and potential frustrations.