A COMMUNICATIONS company has launched a scheme to help families and vulnerable customers stay connected during lockdown 3.0.
Virgin Media says that is will provide extra data to help with homeschooling, as well as making a range of factual pay TV channels available free of charge.
And to help people stay fit, it has also launched Get Moving, a channel featuring interval training, yoga and PE sessions. Presenters include Olympic gold medallist Daley Thompson.
The TV channels include Animal Planet HD, Crime+Investigation HD, Discovery Science, Eurosport 1 and 2 HD and Sky History and are available until Tuesday, February 9.
Pre-schoolers can access the ad-free Hopster app, which includes favourites such as Sesame Street and Pingu. This is accessed via the V6 set-top box and available until the end of March.
And to help families facing financial difficulties and vulnerable customers to stay connected and online, Virgin Mobile is offering an additional 20GB of mobile data per month so children can take part in online lessons and remote learning.
The provider has also agreed to zero rate data for learning resources, with Oak National Academy the first to benefit.
This will mean children can access the service without using any of their mobile data.
Virgin Media’s broadband packages already provide connectivity with no data caps.
Vulnerable customers on Pay As You Go contracts will receive 500 minutes, 500 text messages and 1GB of extra data at no extra cost every month, and those on Pay Monthly contracts will receive unlimited minutes and 10GB of additional data every month. Both offers are available until the end of March.
Virgin Media has also launched an essential broadband service for customers who receive Universal Credit. The plan costs £15 per month for 15Mbps with no fixed-term contract length and no price changes while Universal Credit payments are being received.
In a statement, Jeff Dodds, Virgin Media’s chief operating officer, said: “As we have done since the start of this pandemic, we want to support our customers during the difficult months that lie ahead. We know how important it is for people to have the connectivity to get online, as well as to stay entertained while spending more time at home.
“From offering free mobile data to support remote learning to providing a great line-up of pay TV channels at no extra cost, we’re pleased to be playing our part in helping our customers during this challenging time.”
