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New customers looking to take a home broadband package or bundle from UK ISP Virgin Media (O2) may like to know that the service provider will today be moving from 18-month minimum term contracts to longer 24-month terms. The change does not impact existing customers, at least it won’t until you need to upgrade or re-contract.
We should point out that it’s not unusual for providers in this market to occasionally play musical chairs with the length of their minimum terms. The advantage of signing up to a longer term is that it tends to lock-in cheaper (discounted) pricing for a longer period, which saves you money and gives the ISP greater certainty over future revenues.
The disadvantage is of course that it can also make it harder or more expensive for customers to escape their existing contract, particularly if they experience protracted difficulties with the service further down the road. Having said that, both 18-month and 24-month terms are fairly common in this market, although it’s nicer when ISPs give you a fair choice of different contract lengths.
Take note that some of Virgin Media’s package discounts will also be changing today, with the price of their 250Mbps broadband service becoming £28.99 pm, while 350Mbps will oddly fall to £27.99 and 500Mbps is now £32.99. But remember that these prices will increase by +£3.50 every April.