"It’s never easy to say goodbye.” These were the words that greeted many Virgin customers this January. And when we say many, Irish Country Living understands the figure to be approximately 17,000 households.
All were informed that, due to a licensing expiration, Virgin would no longer be able to provide them with their TV service after 18 April 2016.
Some Irish Country Living readers were confused, others angry. Companies like Virgin are usually mad keen to get your business. So why are they now saying “goodbye” to your custom?
The back story
Our first port of call was Comreg, the Commission for Communications Regulation. Almost immediately, it became clear that although it is understandable customers would be annoyed, the issue appears to be outside Virgin’s control.
Through discussions with both representatives in Comreg and Virgin, we were informed that the customers affected have, until now, been receiving their TV service via an MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System) platform.
Essentially, it is a broadcast TV platform for those who can’t get cable TV. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that many of those households are based in rural areas, rather than big towns and cities.
Virgin, which until last year was UPC, acquired this platform when it purchased Chorus in 2004 and NTL in 2005. So if you originally took out your service with either of those companies and never changed, there is a good chance you are affected.
Times are changing
Things on that MMDS line are changing now. Comreg details in a statement that EU legislation “requires each member state to make the 2.6GHz band available following the expiry of existing licences”.
The license was up for renewal back in 2013 and UPC at the time got it sorted for another two years (bringing the license up to April 2016).
Last year, however, the renewal was not granted. We weren’t told why. However, Comreg did state that: “The 2.6GHz band is used principally for 4G mobile services and across Europe this band is being used for that purpose.” We can only assume that this is also going to be the case here.
So now you know why it’s happened, but where does it leave you? Well, the good news is if you haven’t received a letter in the post from Virgin yet, chances are you’re fine.
Virgin explained to Irish Country Living that every customer was contacted in January to give them three months of a lead-in period to switch. And Bonkers.ie and Switcher.ie were supplied as cost comparisons websites that could help you in your search for an alternative TV option.
Simon Moynihan, comunications director with Bonkers.ie says: “There is still a wide range of options available to fill the gap left by Virgin Media. Sky provides countrywide service, and Eir and Vodafone now provide TV via their broadband service for customers in fibre-enabled areas. There is also the option of Saorview, which is free after the initial equipment and setup costs.”
The example below details options available to consumers, even in rural areas.
Listen to a discussion of the situation in our podcast below:
Meet Pat and Karen O’Connor. Based in west Limerick, they started out as Chorus customers, paying €20 for a basic TV offering each month. They had their line rental with Eircom, costing €20 per month, while IFA Telecom provided their broadband (€45 per month) and phone calls (approximately €15 per month). They were paying €100 per month – bringing the total to €1,200 per annum.
Simon says, “The good news is, their area of west Limerick is supplied by eir’s fibre network, and they have an eir landline already installed. Therefore, they have numerous options, both in terms of suppliers and how to bundle the different services.”
Option One
Pat and Karen are happy with their IFA Telecom service. If they wanted to continue to keep their TV separate, Sky is the only option currently available to them.
They would get 56 channels, including Sky Atlantic for €20.65 for 12 months (€29.50 afterwards). This includes Sky Go, which lets customers watch on-demand TV across multiple devices, as well as Catch-up TV. New customers aren’t charged an installation fee.
Monthly:
Eircom line rental: €20p/m
IFA Telecom broadband: €45p/m
IFA Telecom calls: €15p/m
Sky TV year one: €20.65p/m
*After year one, Sky TV bill increases to
€29.50p/m thereafter.
Total:
Year one: €100.65p/m
€1,207.80p/a
Year two total: €109.50p/m
€1,314p/a
Option two
Pat and Karen could decide to continue to keep their bills separately, but do a review of their suppliers. They could opt for the Sky Package above, but change their broadband and phone supplier to Pure Telecom. Instead, they would have a total cost of €47 a month for broadband, phone and line rental included (€39 a month for the first three months). This includes calls to landlines and 50 minutes of calls to Irish mobiles. They could also opt to get unlimited calls to the UK, US, Australia or Canada for €5 a month.
Monthly
Pure Telecom BB
and phone: €39 (three months)
* Increases to €47 thereafter.
Sky TV: €20.65p/m
*After year one, Sky TV bill increases to
€29.50p/m thereafter.
Total:
Year one: €59.65 for three months €67.65 thereafter €787.80p/a
Year two: €76.50p/m
€918p/a
Option THree
Pat and Karen could also package their bills with one company.
Eir offers unlimited 100Mb broadband (with a 10Mb upload speed), 85 channels and unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles for €85 a month. This is reduced to €33 a month for the first six months for new customers. This is an 18-month contract.
Monthly
Eir’s introduction package: €33p/m for six months
Thereafter: €85p/m
Total:
Year one: €33 for six months, Thereafter: €85p/m €708p/a
Year two: €85p/m
€1,020p/a
Option four
There is also the option to package their services with Sky which offers unlimited 100Mb broadband, 56 channels and off-peak calls to landlines for €49 a month for the first 12 months with the supplier.
This is a 12-month contract. Afterwards, they will be charged €79.50 a month.
Monthly:
Sky’s Triple Play package: €49p/m
Thereafter: €79.50
Yearly:
Year one total: €588
Year two total: €954
Saorview
Saorview is also an option. It’s a one-off installation fee, upwards of €250. Multi-room viewing and pause and rewind are included. It comes with Irish channels and any other free-to-air channels that the customer’s satellite can pick up.
Consider Your Options
It’s not all about the price paid. You should also consider:
Broadband speeds and limit
Sky, Pure Telecom, Vodafone and eir all provide unlimited 100Mb broadband (10Mb upload speed) on eir’s network in this area. Therefore, there is no difference in the quality of the broadband service, but they may differ in your area.
Payment options
Many of the best-value deals require payment by direct debit, including those detailed above.
Cancellation options:
New customers have a 14-day cooling-off period within which to cancel an order.
Setup costs
None of the options above require setup costs but it’s always worth asking.
Contract terms
Also take note of the terms and conditions such as contract duration, additional charges for breaking contracts, how long the company takes to react to problems and customer service.
SHARING OPTIONS