Virgin Media O2 launches new mobile plan to support people on low incomes

• O2 Essential Plan is available for people who receive a range of benefits
• The plan costs £10 per month and comes with 10GB of data plus unlimited calls and texts

Virgin Media O2 is launching a new mobile plan to help people on low incomes stay connected.

The O2 Essential Plan is available for new and existing customers who receive a range of benefit payments, and comes with 10GB of mobile data, plus unlimited calls and texts for £10 per month.

The plan can be taken as a 30-day rolling contract, has no activation or exit fees, and no price changes while customers receive benefit payments.

The Essential Plan is available for people who receive any of the following government support payments: Income-based Employment Support Allowance (I-ESA), Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (I-JSA), Income Support (IS), Pension Credit (PC) or Universal Credit (UC).

Customers can also access Priority from O2 and enjoy over £200 in additional value compared to other mobile operators*, with exclusive rewards and experiences as well as access to a wide range of concert tickets 48 hours in advance of general sale. In addition, customers will get inclusive EU Roaming as standard, too.

People can find out more about the Essential Plan, see if they are eligible and apply via here.

Christian Hindennach, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2, said:

“Virgin Media O2 is proud to offer a range of comprehensive measures to help people on low incomes to get online and stay in touch with loved ones.

“While we know mobile connectivity in the UK is already very affordable, the launch of the O2 Essential Plan builds on our wide range of existing support for people experiencing financial difficulties. This includes our broadband plan for people receiving support payments, the National Databank providing free mobile data for people in need, and our Community Calling scheme which rehomes smartphones with people who need them.”

Tackling digital exclusion

The O2 Essential Plan forms part of Virgin Media O2’s work to improve digital inclusion across the UK, and goal to connect one million digitally excluded people through free and affordable connectivity and services.

This supports the new Government’s aim to address digital poverty, with 2.6 million UK households finding it difficult to afford their mobile phone service, according to latest Ofcom figures.

Virgin Media O2 has already committed to partner with the Government and charity, Supporting Children with Diabetes to donate recycled smartphones to help children of low income families access technology so they can monitor their blood glucose levels.

Helping people stay connected

Virgin Media O2 has extensive measures to support customers experiencing financial difficulty to stay connected.

This includes its Essential broadband and Essential broadband plus plans which offer a reliable broadband service for people who receive benefit payments.

Essential broadband offers speeds of 15Mbps and costs £12.50 per month – making it one of the cheapest social tariffs on the market. Essential broadband plus provides 54Mbps broadband for £20 a month. Both plans have no fixed-term contract length and no price changes for customers on either plan while benefit payments are being received.

Essential broadband plus customers also have the option to add Virgin Media O2’s entertainment product, Stream, for an upfront, one-off fee of just £20 – a 42% saving on the normal £35 charge – with no long-term contract or ongoing charges for the basic package. Stream simply plugs into any TV and seamlessly combines live TV, on-demand apps, popular streaming subscriptions, and must-watch movies all in one place with personalisation and flexibility at its core. Virgin Media O2 is the only provider to offer an entertainment add on to a social tariff

Any customer taking Stream can get 10% credit back on the subscriptions they add to the service via their Virgin Media bill, giving customers a more affordable way to subscribe to major streaming services.

Supporting customers with data and devices

Virgin Media O2 also founded the National Databank in partnership with digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation. The National Databank is like a food bank but provides free O2 mobile data, texts and calls to people who need it.

Anyone in need can get 25GB of free O2 mobile data per month for up to 12 months through the National Databank’s network of thousands of National Databank Hubs nationwide – including O2 retail stores. People can find their nearest National Databank Hub here.

On top of this, the company’s Talk Protected Plan keeps prices fixed for its elderly and disabled landline-only customers. It comes with inclusive evening and weekend calls.

Virgin Media O2’s Community Calling initiative with environmental charity, Hubbub, has also rehomed  20,000 smartphones to people in need across the UK.