Virgin Broadband Speeds
Posted February 16th, 2012
and last modified April 10th, 2012Virgin Broadband is the wireless broadband arm of Virgin Mobile Australia, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Optus. Optus, the second largest internet service provider (ISP) in Australia, is a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications. Besides Virgin Mobile Australia, Optus also owns ‘Boost Mobile’ which is prominent in the mobile telephony market, ‘Uecomm’, a network services organisation and ‘Alphawest; which operates ICT services. Optus is one of the few ISPs to own and operate its own internet network, although it does rely on Telstra for Virgin broadband coverage outside of the immediate metropolitan areas of the major Australian capital cities other than Darwin in the Northern Territory where it has no presence at all. OptusNet is the body that provides broadband wireless to Virgin Mobile.
Top Virgin Mobile Broadband Plans
Virgin Broadband Speeds Rely on High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA, is an improved 3G (third generation) mobile broadband technology. It also includes developments such as 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G. All these technological advancements have been responsible for improved Virgin broadband speed coverage throughout the country. HSDPA can currently deliver downloading data speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and even 14 Mbps. Even faster Virgin broadband speeds can be obtained with HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) as 42 Mbps to 84Mbps are not unobtainable if everything is set up to suit and all conditions are favourable.
Virgin Mobile Launched in 2007
Virgin Mobile launched its Australian service in 2007. It initially offered 4GB downloads with its plans and claimed data download speeds of 700Kbps. As an added feature it also offered unlimited phone calls to any landline phone number anywhere within Australia including those to Virgin mobile numbers. The Virgin broadband speed coverage is obtained with an Option Globesurfer 7.2 modem. It includes a RJ11 jack as a connection to the regular telephone landline and an Ethernet jack for connection to the computer. For wireless WiFi connections that allow access to more than the one computer, Virgin uses an inbuilt 802.11gWiFi. Later in 2007 Virgin Mobile changed its offer to new customers. It cut back the 4GB data allowance to 2GB and basically rewrote is acceptance policy. The company experienced considerable difficulty in early 2008 with faults discovered in its modems and long waits at it call centres. The company finally got on top of its problems and recent Virgin broadband speeds have increased significantly. This has seen ZDNet, the Australian Broadband Speed Test, a body that measures data transfer ranking Virgin Mobile highly.
Virgin Mobile features and benefits:
- Virgin broadband coverage does not include the Northern Territory or Tasmania, except for an area around Hobart. This is because it is subjected to Optus broadband coverage areas. You can find the exact coverage areas by checking the Optus website as the actual areas are being continuously expanded.
- Data allowance includes both uploads and downloads. This means you will use your data allowance when uploading files such as photo’s etc. onto social networking sites just as you will when downloading games onto your hard drive. Data is charged in KB’s
- Virgin broadband speed coverage. This will depend on where you are located. In the more populated cities you will be able to access the super fast 3G dual band of the Optus network. In other areas you may have to fall back on the slower Optus GSM/GPRS network.
- An acceptable use policy has to be complied with. If you download continuously so that your use adversely affects other users in the area your service may be subjected to cancellation. Peer to peer speed is also limited to 32Kbps.
- Virgin broadband speeds are shaped for excess usage. If you exceed your data allowance in any one month your data download speeds will be reduced, or shaped, to 128Kbps for the next 250MB. If you use more than this extra amount you will not be able to access the internet at all until your next monthly data allocation is due to be made. You can however purchase top-up amounts to keep you going, but you must remember that you can only top up on three occasions each month.
Virgin broadband coverage and Virgin broadband speeds are fully reliant on what Optus is able to provide. Optus have been busy in recent months expanding their infrastructure in areas they have never been before. Over 400 new towers were constructed in one 12 month period alone. As with other ISPs they are busily getting ready to take full advantage of the National Broadband Network (NBN) when its fibre optic roll out across the nation is completed. When this occurs it will impact on the mobile broadband network as much as it will impact the cable network. Broadband speeds will then be able to be reached that were only dreams not many months ago, and you can be assured that Virgin, through its parent company Optus, will be at the forefront to deliver its customers the fastest data downloading speeds possible.
Our award-winning Mobile Broadband service uses the Optus network.
So if you live in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Hobart, the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast there’s a good chance we’ve got you covered.
PC & Tech Authority magazine (June 2011) named our Mobile Broadband as ‘Best Value’.
- No bill shock – we don’t charge for excess usage
- Get what you pay for – we charge per KB, not per MB
- Bundle and save – when you have your Postpaid mobile phone & Mobile Broadband with us
Great coverage – we use the Optus network
- Get what you pay for – we charge per KB, not per MB
- No excess usage charges, so you’re in control
Whether you want to get a new modem, bring your own modem, or pick up a Micro SIM for your iPad, we’ve got an option to suit.
Recharge from $15 & modems from $29
- Up to 365 days to use your data
- No strings attached & no credit check
Best value monthly plans
- Move up or top-up if you need more data
- Bundle with a Postpaid phone & save