Availability: While virgin offer a DSL service, it's not widely used, and their main price scheme is directed towards their cable service. Virgin are the only cable provider in the UK, and you have to be within range of their network in order to receive their cable broadband and cable television services. If you live in a large town, chances are you should have access to Virgins cable services, but if you live in a rural area, there's very little chance. You can check out whether or not you are illegible by doing a postcode search on the Virgin Media website.

Speed: As a cable service, Virgin's speed is pretty reliable. You can choose between 10Mb, 20Mb, and 50Mb packages, although only some areas can access 50Mb, and it costs double the price of most UK broadband connections, so make sure you're going to use all that speed if you do end up going for the higher end option. Even the lower option of 10Mb is far faster than most UK providers though, so Virgin certainly have the edge when it comes to broadband speed.

Bandwidth caps: Virgin do cap their 10Mb and 20Mb service during the day, although the caps are released at night, and you do have a certain amount you can download at full speed during peak times before your speed gets reduced. The 50Mb service is currently uncapped so it's definitely the best option for heavy downloaders.

Customer Service: Virgin are well known for their speedy activation times and have won awards for it in the past, so if you need to get your broadband set up in a hurry Virgin are a great choice. Overall current Virgin Media users rate the company's customer service as satisfactory. Customer service phone lines are free to call, while users can pay extra for specific technical support if they require. Always make sure to check up on personal Virgin broadband reviews from comparison and review sites to get an up to date view on exactly how well a certain provider is currently doing.

Value for money: Virgins deals represent the best value for money when you combine them other Virgin services. Grabbing a TV, phone and broadband deal from the company can net you substantial savings compared to getting each item individually, and also means you only have a single monthly bill to worry about, and one customer service number to have to deal with. Like the broadband, the TV and phone packages also offer you a variety of different deals so it's pretty easy to find one that suits your needs without having to spend over the odds for a service you're not going to use.

Summary: Virgin can offer you speeds that no other provider in the UK can offer, providing you are in an urban area and can access their cable services. Their DSL isn't anything special, but cable broadband combined with a cable TV service can provide you with some very impressive speeds for a great price.