Virgin Media finally rolls out 4G with free WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger

Virgin Media mobile customers rejoice! 4G is finally being rolled out for you, allowing you to harness the power of EE’s superfast network. There’s more to the rollout than faster internet though, with Virgin also offering customers free WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger action. 

That means any message, picture or video you send on either social app will not be deducted from your data allowance if you opt for one of the new mobile plans. 

This doesn’t include voice and video calls within the applications though, so you’ll still burn through your data using these functions if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi.

Keep on rolling

The new Virgin Media tariffs also allow you to roll over any unused data to the next month – although the rolled-over data will expire when you finish that month. 

A Virgin Media spokesperson told us: “The rolled-over data does not accumulate – it lasts one month. However, there is no limit to how much contract data someone can rollover. 

“For example, if you’re on a 20GB contract and you only use 15GB in January then 5GB is transferred to February. If you only use 1GB data in the whole of February then 20GB is transferred to March (the 4GB of rolled over data from January expires).”

4G has been a long wait for Virgin Media customers, with the faster network having been available on all the major networks for quite some time.

"We wanted to make sure we launched 4G properly and wanted to do something different from our competitors, which is why we’re offering free messaging on WhatsApp and Messenger," the spokesperson told us.

We're still waiting to hear if access to the full EE network – which features 'double speed' for higher-paying customers – will be offered to Virgin Media users. We've contacted the network again to clarify, and will update the story if we find out.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.