Category Archives: virgin
Virgin Mobile UK damaging its brand by using BPO
Perils of outsourcing & cross selling highlighted
GoMo News hears of a reader who is now being inundated by calls from a British company called BPO (BPO Collections Ltd) which claims to be representing Virgin Mobile UK. Bizarrely, the company insists on asking for personal details – which he naturally declines to give out. Yet the calls keep coming so he is now cancelling the other services he takes from Virgin Media (the parent company) as well. A swift search of the Net shows that there are probably hundreds of similarly disgruntled Virgin customers out there – all threatening to quit. Not exactly the best way to build a brand, is it? Continue reading
UK MVNOs may be losing that personal touch
Rating: Virgin Media/Mobile UK fails to impress
It is always dangerous to base an assumption on such a low sample, but the experience of one Brit cellular user has raised our curiosity. This particular reader has been on a 24 month contract with Virgin Media (formerly Virgin Mobile UK) for a BlackBerry Curve 8520 which was utilised purely for work email purposes and not personal calls. Given that the contract will finally expire early this month [January 2013], he called Virgin hoping that the firm’s customer retention policy would at least secure an equivalent deal. No such luck. The agent only made a feeble effort to entice him onto the most expensive tariff. Continue reading
Virgin leaps ahead with free Wi-fi in Bradford and Leeds
Lampost network requires no subsidies or licensing
Britain’s Virgin Media is to be the first to offer city wide Wi-fi outside London, providing free mobile internet access to 1.2 million people in Bradford and Leeds via small cell transmitters. Though operated by the group’s corporate business arm, the service will be open to the public and is being ushered in under government plans to create a series of ‘super connected’ urban hubs. Earlier this month Virgin Media struck a deal to provide Wi-fi services to the London Underground, although it was beaten by O2 for the rights to equip Westminster with a similar network last year. Continue reading
Virgin Media in secret talks to get early 4G
Richard Branson’s Virgin Media is in secret talks with EE to become Britain’s second mobile operator to offer 4G mobile internet, it’s claimed.
The company already runs a “virtual” mobile network using EE infrastructure and is now said to be in discussion to offer its own 4G services, giving it a jump start over rivals. Continue reading
Londoners to make calls from Tube for 1st time in 19 yrs
Rating: GoMobile News remembers using a Rabbit (CT2) @ Russell Sq
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, announced yesterday [March 14th 2012] that Londoners would have access to Wi-fi on the Tube thanks to a new contract awarded to Virgin Media by Tfl [Transport for London]. Boris is quoted as saying that, “Millions of passengers will now be able to connect to their work, friends or access the latest news and travel information whilst on the move.” That’s not technically correct. Luckily, he didn’t use the phrase “for the first time.” Because that would have been completely untrue. GoMobile News recalls making a phone call from Russell Square (one of the deepest Underground stations in Central London) some 19 years ago. That involved using a handset supplied by Hutchison Rabbit using a standard known as CT2. It illustrates just how far behind the rest of the world London is lagging in terms of mobile telephony. Continue reading
Oranges texts us to say we can save £48 per annum
Rating: & Virgin Mobile UK users can now utilise the Orange network
It’s not every day that a utility company (which is what mobile network operators effectively are) get in contact to say that they can reduce your monthly bill. Well, that’s exactly what’s just happened. We signed up for Orange Best Plan service and every six months the company reviews our existing plan to see if we could be getting a better deal from Orange. Apparently we could. However, you have to go online to review your Best Plan review – through ‘Your Account’. That wasn’t easy. We should also mention that Virgin Mobile (UK) contacted us to say that we can now use the Orange network as well. Continue reading
RIM continues to try users’ patience
Rating: Two weeks and only two crappy apps!
When RIM suffered its three day outage, RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, said, “We have apologised to our customers and we will work tirelessly to restore their confidence.” This doesn’t seem to be working. He also said, “We are grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers for their patience.” Part of that gratitude was to offer RIM’s enterprise customers a month of free technical support. Details are available here. Consumers, on the other hand, were offered twelve free apps. RIM promised, “The complete selection of premium apps will become available to download at BlackBerry App World over a period of four weeks beginning Wednesday, October 19th [2011]. Ten days later and only two apps (one a game) have been made available. * (See update below). This has led to considerable discontent amongst BlackBerry owners. One GoMo News reader wrote here, “Two weeks and only two crappy apps! What a sincere apology, BB!” Here we explain how to get the free apps if your BlackBerry won’t show them. Continue reading
Where have all the free BlackBerry apps gone
Rating: To the tune of Bonnie T’s I Need a Hero
Quite some time has elapsed since Research In Motion (RIM) suffered a catastrophic outage at its NOC (Network Operations Centre) in Slough. This outage basically deprived millions of users of the full use of their BlackBerry smartphones for email, the internet and BBM instant messaging. RIM searched around for some means of recompensing its loyal customers. Given that paying out refunds to subscribers on hundreds of different operator networks globally would be a logistical nightmare, RIM opted to provide those who had suffered with some £60 worth of free apps. Only this is RIM – a company that is a walking PR disaster. So, some 16 days after the event occurred, there are still only two of the promised apps available for download. One of which is a game. Continue reading
Spotify hooks up with Virgin Media
Rating: Will it increase subscribers as result?
How bizarre. Despite being a customer of both Virgin Media and Spotify, this GoMo News hack only learnt today [July 6th 2011] that there are very definite plans for a link-up between the two. According to a report in the UK’s FT here, Spotify and Virgin Media have struck a deal that should help the music streaming service boost its numbers. Virgin Media has an estimated 4 million customers in the UK. If the deal goes through then customers will be offered access Spotify’s catalogue of 13 million songs through their TV set-top box. Customers should also be able to get Spotify services on their netbook or mobile phone. Continue reading
Virgin Media endorses Nokia N8 big time
Rating: Gets its Virgin Media Player app pre-installed
Just four days after its commercial release in the UK, Nokia‘s first ever Symbian ^3 handset – the N8 – is going to come with a Virgin Media Player app pre-loaded. The app is intended to highlight the content capabilities of Virgin Media’s three-play offering. It’s nice to see a leading company investing time and effort in a Symbian app for example. Continue reading
V Festers get Virgin Media Music Store sneak preview
Rating: Alliance with IMImobile gets V Music going
Where better to launch a new online store aimed at mobile phone users than at a music festival which you yourself front? So that’s exactly why Virgin has decided to let V festival attendees try out the service for free before its official launch. Continue reading
Virgin Mobile targets “the youth” with launch of Indian GSM network and further price reductions
The Virgin Mobile strategy for spreading to new countries is pretty well established. It partners with an existing carrier in the country, and offers its own branded services over its partner’s network. In India, the Virgin Mobile partnership is 50-50 with indigenous operator Tata Teleservices. But Tata runs a CDMA network, which has much less coverage in India than the dominant GSM networks. So Virgin has announced a new GSM service, an ad campaign targeting a youth audience, and new reductions in call and SMS rates. Continue reading
Mobile Operators USA: Sprint buys Virgin and Touch Pro2 comes to T-Mobile
Two mobile operator stories from the US leap out today. First, Sprint Nextel has announced it will be buying the rest of Virgin Mobile USA (it already owns 13%), and T-Mobile will soon be carrying the much-anticipated HTC Touch Pro2. Continue reading
Virgin Mobile FreeFest new Book the Band SMS competition
I have to say the more and more I hear from the Virgin FreeFest – the more I love it. Continue reading
Virgin Mobile sells its Canadian operation 100% to Bell Canada
Bell Canada has announced that it has finished buying the 50% of Virgin Mobile Canada it didn’t already own. The acquisition includes long-term rights over the branding. The mobile operator will still operate independently, as its own company, but it is now an entirely Bell-owned subsidiary. Continue reading
