Which broadband providers use Virgin lines?

We don't use Virgin lines. We deliver over Openreach. Virgin Media O2 is the brand that uses its own network: older coaxial cable in many streets, newer full fibre where they have upgraded. giffgaff now sells over some of that fibre too. Most other household names are on Openreach, same as us.

What people mean by Virgin lines

They usually mean the cables Virgin Media put in the ground, not a Virgin-branded router on someone else's fibre. For two decades that network was fibre to a street cabinet, then a coaxial cable into the house. That is why a Virgin install often used a different wall plate from the BT phone socket.

That picture is changing. Virgin Media is laying full fibre over parts of the old cable footprint. Separately, nexfibre is building full fibre in areas Virgin did not already cover, and selling access to other brands. Virgin Media O2 is the main one. They have talked about letting more providers on.

So "Virgin lines" now covers three related things: the old cable, Virgin's own full fibre upgrade, and nexfibre full fibre. None of that is Openreach, which is the network we use. Our which broadband providers use Openreach, is the other half of the map.

Who actually sells on that network

Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, EE, Plusnet, BT and us are Openreach in most of the country. Some of them also sell over other fibre builders (CityFibre is the usual second network) in streets those builders have reached. That is still not a Virgin line. If a comparison site says "Virgin network", it should mean Virgin Media or nexfibre, not "any fast fibre".

YouFibre and Netomnia are a different fibre builder. nexfibre has been trying to buy that group. If the brand on the van was YouFibre, do not assume it is a Virgin socket.

How to tell which network is in your street

• Look at the wall kit. A coaxial Virgin plate points to the old cable network. An Openreach fibre box is a small white unit, often labelled, near where the phone line used to land. A Virgin or nexfibre fibre box looks similar, but it will not be an Openreach unit.
• Run two address checks. One with Virgin Media or giffgaff, and one with us on the broadband page. Plenty of streets now have both.
• Ask the provider which network the order uses. Some brands put you on Openreach in one postcode and another fibre builder in the next. The brand on the bill is not the cable in the ground.

What changes if you leave Virgin for Openreach

You are changing physical networks. That usually means a new install: an engineer, a drill hole for full fibre, a new router, and a plan for the overlap. It is not the quiet records update you get when you move from one Openreach provider to another.

Ofcom's One Touch Switch still covers the move. You contact the new provider. They contact Virgin Media. You get a Switching Information Notice that includes any early termination charge. You can cancel during the 14-day cooling-off period if that charge is too high. Your old Virgin service is not put back on automatically if you cancel after it has already been stopped.

The reason to move is rarely that Openreach is magically faster. It is contract terms, support, and whether the price stays put. We don't raise the broadband price mid-contract, we answer from the UK, and the live packages sit on the broadband page. Customers rate us 4.9 on Trustpilot from 600+ reviews. That is the comparison, not a claim that the glass in the ground is magically different.

If full fibre has not reached you on Openreach and you cannot or will not take a Virgin install, 4G and 5G home broadband is the usual stop-gap: a router and a SIM, no street cabinet.

Virgin lines FAQ