The brand, Virgin Mobile, was established in 1999 as the brainchild of Richard Branson. The launching of Virgin Mobile in 1999, saw it be the very first virtual mobile network operator. Ever since the launch, various Virgin brands have also been established only not to last long. Still, Virgin Mobile seems to continue growing and expanding.
In 2005, the Virgin Mobile brand saw its way into Canada by entering into an equal partnership with BCE Inc. However, in 4 years, BCE Inc gained full ownership of Virgin Mobile by purchasing the other half of the shares. Ever since then, Virgin Mobile has been operated as a distinct entity owned by BCE Inc.
The popularity of Virgin Mobile can be attributed to its history, the decent handsets it offers, reasonable tariffs, and various bonuses offered to its customers. When it comes to adding value, Virgin Mobile takes a unique strategy when compared to other carriers in Canada. Its members enjoy lots of discounts on travel deals, products, and services, tickets to events sponsored by Virgin, and lots of giveaways.
Overview Of Virgin Mobile
As mentioned earlier, Virgin Mobile is a mid-tier mobile carrier that runs all of its operations on the Bell Mobility network as a separate entity. Virgin Mobile operating as a separate entity gives it a strong retail presence in Canada. Virgin Mobile can be found in kiosks, retail stores, and multi-carrier retailers all over the country.
The retail stores around the country are called service lounges, and they provide warranty services and loaner phones provided you meet specific requirements under the warranty service. Virgin Mobile is in active competition with Fido and Koodo Mobile and as such offers a wide range of benefits to its members and those who would love to join in.
Benefits usually include VIP experiences and special discounts.
Features Of Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile offers a lot of advantages when you sign up with them. These include;
- Free Activation
Activating your account will come at zero cost even if it requires a technician to come over to make installations.
- Free Modem subscription
With Virgin Mobile, you won’t be required to make monthly subscriptions to rent your modem, which is not the case for most carriers.
- Short-term contracts
Members get to pay low prices monthly. As such, you can discontinue at any time without paying out the contract.
- Member Benefits
Members get to enjoy lots of discounts on movie screenings, hotels and travel, fashion brands, concert pre-sale offers, and restaurants.
There are numerous sweepstakes, and drawings members can participate in too!
- Roaming Services
Roaming services are provided in over 100 locations at a very flat rate each day.
And as such you get to really enjoy your trip without worrying about the ridiculous bills on getting home.
- SmartCare offering
Virgin Mobile offered extensions on the warranty to help protect against theft or loss of your device.
- Unlimited data
Members get to enjoy unlimited data at no monthly cost when on the higher-speed Internet plan.
- Online account
Making payments and monitoring data usage can all be made online through your Virgin Account.
- Reliable network since they make use of the Bell infrastructure
Cons Of Virgin Mobile
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Virgin Mobile is only accessible in some provinces. Only residents of Quebec and Ontario can get internet plans from Virgin Mobile.
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Virgin Mobile does not provide bundling services, and as such, you will be unable to share your Virgin Internet with your TV.
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There are usage limits on specific Internet plans which affects how often you can utilize your data.
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Extras such as wall-to-wall Wi-Fi coverage and internet security packages are quite limited.
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When it comes to making contracts, Virgin offers a 2-year contract, which when discontinued very early might see you pay cancellation fees without getting any value in return.
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Personal reviews on the forum suggest likely issues with the quality of their customer service.
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Apart from plan features and discounts, there are little or no differences in terms of rate between Virgin and other carriers.
Virgin Mobile Member Benefits
Appointing Virgin Mobile as your carrier, automatically makes you a member, and as, such you can enjoy decent benefits from them. To name a few, these benefits include;
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50% discount on movie tickets at the Cineplex Theatres
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Maximum of 20% discount on purchases at The Source
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Opportunity to participate in The Nutcracker tickets and Ottawa Senators tickets before it is made available to the public, gift card worth $200 to The Keg, and lots more
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Maximum of 25% discount on purchases at H&M
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$10 discount on live event tickets Fanxchange
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10% discount on purchases at Pizza Pizza
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10% discount on purchases at Freshii
The most exciting thing about these benefits is the fact that they are certain things a lot of people will get to your use.
Network and Coverage of Virgin Mobile
The fact that Virgin Mobile operates on the vast network of Bell Inc makes it possible for Virgin to provide a very strong network across the country.
When it comes to Virgin Mobile, Network strength isn’t something to be worried about. However, if you’re planning to bring your own phone along, you will need to make sure that it works in either of these frequencies;
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LTE: 1700/2100 MHz (AWS)
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HSPA: 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies
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LTE Advanced (LTE-a): 2600 MHz and 700 MHz
Presently, Virgin Mobile has a very strong LTE-Advanced network across Canada, and the coverage continues to grow as they invest more in their network.
You can visit the Virgin Mobile website to experience the interactive coverage map. You can input your address to know precisely how strong the coverage is around your office or home.
Virgin Mobile Plans and Tariffs
Before you can apply for any of the Virgin Mobile plans, it is required that you sign a 2-year contract.
There are 6 various levels of plans you can choose from depending on your budget. These include;
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Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP)
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Silver: Maximum of $300 off your phone
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Gold: Maximum of $500 off your phone
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Platinum: Maximum of $700 off your phone
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Diamond: Maximum of $900 off your phone
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Diamond Plus: Maximum of $1000 off your phone
The Diamond Plus plan is regarded as the premium tier plan.
Virgin Mobile Plan
Offerings at $28 per month
BYOP
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Data: 1GB
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Minutes: Unlimited on Evenings and Weekends between 5 pm to 7 am + pay per use
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Messaging: unlimited picture messaging to the US and Canada + Unlimited Text Worldwide
Silver
- Not Available
Gold
- Not Available
Platinum
- Not Available
Diamond
- Not Available
Diamond Plus
- Not Available
Virgin Mobile Plan
Offerings at $45 per month
BYOP
- Not Available
Silver
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No Data
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Minutes: Unlimited on Evenings and Weekends between 5 pm to 7 am + 500 Canada Wide Minutes
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Messaging: $10 for Unlimited Canada Minutes + unlimited picture messaging to the US and Canada + Unlimited Text Worldwide
Gold
- Not Available
Platinum
- Not Available
Diamond
- Not Available
Diamond Plus
- Not Available
Virgin Mobile Plan
Offerings at $90 per month
BYOP
- Not Available
Silver
- Not Available
Gold
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Data: 7GB + 3 GB Bonus
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Minutes: Unlimited on Evenings and Weekends between 5 pm to 7 am + 500 Canada Wide Minutes
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Messaging: $5 for Unlimited Canada Minutes + unlimited picture messaging to the US and Canada + Unlimited Text Worldwide
Platinum
- Not Available
Diamond
- Not Available
Diamond Plus
- Not Available
Virgin Mobile Plan
Offerings at $100 per month
BYOP
- Not Available
Silver
- Not Available
Gold
- Not Available
Platinum
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Data: 1GB + 3 GB Bonus
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Minutes: Unlimited
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Canada Wide Minutes
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Messaging: Unlimited picture messaging to the US and Canada + Unlimited Text Worldwide
Diamond
- Not Available
Diamond Plus
- Not Available
Virgin Mobile Plan
Offerings at $140 per month
BYOP
- Not Available
Silver
- Not Available
Gold
- Not Available
Platinum
- Not Available
Diamond
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Data: 7GB +3GB Bonus
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Minutes: Unlimited Canada Wide Minutes
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Messaging: unlimited picture messaging to the US and Canada + Unlimited Text Worldwide
Diamond Plus
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Data: 5GB + 3GB Bonus
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Minutes: Unlimited Canada Wide Minutes
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Messaging: Unlimited picture messaging to the US and Canada + Unlimited Text Worldwide
The offerings above are just a fraction of what Virgin Mobile offers its members. To have the full list of offerings, you can always visit their official website.
Virgin Mobile Roaming Fees
For most mobile plans offered by Virgin Mobile, calls made within the regular Canadian network coverage will not attract any roaming fees whatsoever.
However, travelling outside the country will attract extra costs.
As such, you should try to make use of available add-ons and features to reduce costs.
Travelling to the US
To save cost on roaming, you should try the following.
- Roam Sweet Roam
At the cost of $8 per day, per line you get to have unlimited texts and calls and access to an existing data plan or 100MB of reliable roaming data to make use of on your travels.
- US Travel Passes
Here, you have the choice of choosing from $10 to $80 for each pass. Passes comprise of variations of data, texting, and talk time which is all dependent on your demands.
In the US, the Pay as you go prices are
- For voice calls – $1.40 per min
- For Text – $0.70
Traveling to countries asides US
- Roam Sweet Roam
At the cost of $12 per day, per-line you get to have unlimited texts and calls and access to an existing data plan or 100MB of reliable roaming data to make use of on your travels.
- International Travel Passes
Here, destinations are categorized into three zones with prices varying across the zone, starting with $30 and a maximum of $100. Passes comprise of variations of data, texting, and talk time which is all dependent on your demands
The Pay as you go rates differ from one destination to the other. To have a full understanding of the rates, you can always visit their support page.
Phone offerings by Virgin Mobile
All top devices such as Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Google are offered by Virgin Mobile.
In fact, there was a period where the unique iPhone 8 (in red colour) was provided by Virgin Mobile. Alternatively, you can also Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP)
Furthermore, the exchange of all kinds of devices is offered by Virgin Mobile provided the phone is in the proper condition or at the barest minimum be powered on.
Virgin Mobile always offers to pay a reasonable price for used phones.
You can always check the calculator on their website to see how much your phone is worth.
Virgin Mobile SmartCare Offerings
Virgin Mobile provides an excellent SmartCare coverage making available two different plans; the $12 or $6 plan.
Choosing a plan for yourself should be dependent on the device you use and the warranty on your device.
Furthermore, coverage on misplaced or stolen devices as well as physical and liquid damage on devices is offered by Virgin Mobile. You can check for more details here.
Customer service
According to the 2018 report published by the Ofcom industry, Virgin Mobile ranks very high when it comes to customer satisfaction. The report suggests that 90% of Virgin Mobile members were pleased with the services.
When it comes to how complaints were handled, a lot of members were not satisfied with only 44% showing satisfaction with how complaints were resolved.
However, Virgin Mobile has a waiting period of approximately 45 seconds. As such, your complaints should take a long to be put through.
There were also various complaints such as incorrect charges, billing errors, and so on.
However, you should keep in mind that people are more likely to leave reviews if they have received a bad service than them having a good one.
You can check out Trustpilot to see more reviews as their report is based on a broader audience more when compared to Ofcom.
In the case where you have any complaint, you can put a call through to Virgin Mobile at any time of the day.
Customer service is available and opens between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm every day of the week. You can also reach out to them online on the live chat via your online account.
Value for money
As discussed earlier, the plans and tariffs offered by Virgin Mobile compete well in the market even asides that, there are lots of additions to help save cost.
Firstly, you won’t have to pay any upfront fees on mobile devices and as such cuts the overall cost on your contract.
Also, the fact that you can rollover data implies that your data can never get to waste.
Cashback offerings are also available to members provided they refer to friends and family.
Furthermore, members can trade their old mobile devices for cash through the Freestyle Trade-Up proposal.
The Trade-up offer gives members the chance to change their phones and improve their contract before their current contract expires.
The worth of your former phone is used to pay off what is left on your contract.
However, if your former phone values more than what is left on your contract, you will be rewarded with the extra value.
The Trade-up gives you the chance to upgrade very early in the case where your former phone worthless. All that will be required of you is to pay the difference.
To go about exchanging your old phone for cash, a quote based on the device’s condition will be provided by Virgin Mobile and sent to you.
Once you receive the quote with a pack, then you send your device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Virgin Mobile offer bundle services?
The answer is No. You won’t be able to bundle your internet plan as Virgin Mobile does not provide home phone or TV packages that allows bundling.
Nevertheless, introductory offers, member benefits, and promo deals are always available to benefit from.
Is Wi-Fi Calling provided by Virgin Mobile?
Definitely yes.
If you make use of a supported iPhone model, Wi-Fi calling is allowed at no extra cost.
Virgin Mobile does not have an app that supports Wi-Fi calling on non-supported devices.
For more information on usage or compatibility usage, you can visit their Wi-Fi Calling page.
Is it possible to tether my device?
All Virgin Mobile members with an active internet plan and a smartphone are allowed to tether.
You should keep in mind that devices used for tethering might consume data rapidly than your mobile. So you must monitor your data usage so that there won’t be any surprises.
What About SIM fees and Activation?
To get a new line from Virgin Mobile, you will have to make a one-time connection payment of $40. This payment also applies to upgrades on devices with an existing line.
In the situation where you will be bringing your own phone, you will be required to get a Virgin Mobile SIM.
Presently, the prepaid SIM and Pay Monthly Kits can be gotten for free on their online store.
You should note that there are variations in fees between online stores and retail stores, so make sure you check both before buying anything to save cost.
Is it possible to add another number to my online account?
Another Virgin Mobile number can always be added to your online account provided that the number does not have it’s on the account yet.
To add another number, log in to your account, go to the overview page, and select Add another number.
Immediately you are through, you can view all numbers attributed to your account.
Can my online account be deleted?
The answer is No. You want to be able to delete your account once it has been created.
However, you can always change details such as email address, password, phone number of your account.
How can I monitor my spending?
Your recent calls, payments, and current balance can all be viewed in your online account. Records of the last 14 days or previous 60 calls are made available for you to check at any time.
Putting a call to 789 and following the given instructions will audiology provide the details of your precious calls.
Is any fee attributed to me changing my internet plan?
Ideally, you get a discount based on the level of your internet plan.
The higher the level, the more the discount.
If you are changing from a higher level (like the Diamond plan) to a lower level plan, you will need to pay a fee to make up for the difference in discount between the plans.
Final Thoughts
Across the board, Virgin Mobile is an excellent carrier that has won various awards for its superb customer service.
When considering the best plan to go for, we recommend you Bring Your Own Phone as it offers the best value. But most times, that option may not be possible so you might want to consider other plans.
You might think going for the Diamond Plus plan will be the best since it comes with a significant discount. However, you might want to consider the cost of the Diamond Plus plan as it might not be economical in the long run, especially when compared with the BYOP plan that offers the same service.
When the plans were compared to one another, the $60 each month plan seems to provide the best value (you can check the $60 per month plan on their website as it is not listed here)
With the $60 per month offering, the BYOP and Silver plan provides a total of 6GB while the Gold Plan provides zero data.
It is also important to note that paying more upfront sees you paying less monthly while paying less upfront sees you paying more monthly.
And as such you need to find the right balance and value in your upfront payment so you wouldn’t have to pay a substantial monthly plan because you decided to get a shiny phone.
Thanks for reading, please let me know your thoughts and comments below.
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