Virgin Mobile - How it Really Compares

The figures are based on an official report prepared this autumn by National Economic Research Associates for OFTEL, the telephone industry's regulator, and compare a number of popular tariffs against Virgin Mobile's one single, flexible tariff. They also show a broad range of minutes-per-month demonstrating how Virgin Mobile represents good value, however much time people spend on the phone each month.

The figures demonstrate conclusively that overall Virgin Mobile is the cheapest and simplest mobile phone service in the UK. They also show that in some cases Virgin Mobile's costs can be beaten. But consider this:

With Virgin Mobile's rivals:

• Callers are forced to use their phones at certain times of the day to get the cheapest rates and are penalised if they use the phone during peak hours which last 12 hours each day.



• Whatever network they choose, callers have to decide how they are going to use their mobile before they have bought it, and risk getting it wrong.



• Lock customers in to fixed-term contracts, lasting a year or longer.



• Remove unused minutes from pre-pay vouchers, often after a month, without customers realising it.

With Virgin Mobile:

• With Virgin Mobile there are no straitjackets, just clear, transparent pricing. Callers don't have to guess in advance how they are going to use the phone. Whenever and however they choose to use the phone, they know they are getting a cheap deal.



• The more callers use their phone the cheaper it gets. Virgin Mobile is the only mobile phone company in the UK to offer this to its customers.



• There are no peak or off-peak charges and call charges are the same for everyone regardless of how callers choose to pay; whether in advance or arrears. Again, Virgin Mobile is the only network to offer this in the UK.

And Virgin Mobile offers unbeatable best value because:

• Further savings can be made by using Virgin Xtras where customers can save hundreds of pounds each year. For example, a family booking a holiday to America worth £2,000 through Virgin Holidays would save £200 by booking it using their mobile phone - potentially the price of a year's calls.



• Callers can also save 10 per cent off the price of CDs and tapes.