Top 10 Questions

1. What is Broadband?

'Broadband' just means a fast internet connection.

The older, slower type of internet connection is dial-up. Many people are still using dial-up, but it has a speed around 28.8-56 kbps. To be legally called broadband, an internet connection must have a speed of at least 256 kbps: at least 4 times faster! And Virgin Broadband is actually faster still, at 512 kbps. Being so much faster lets you do and see and do much more on the internet, and in a few years broadband will be the standard technology for internet - just like DVDs replacing videos.

2. What is Virgin Broadband?

'Virgin Broadband' is a new service (broadband internet) being offered by Virgin Mobile.

Virgin Mobile has been providing mobile phone services in Australia since 2000, with over 500,000 customers who have joined us for the famous Virgin service and experience.

Now we're launching two broadband products that are really going to shake up the internet scene: Broadband At Home for people who want a home phone plus internet connection; and Mobile Broadband for people who are going places and want an internet connection that can move with them.

3. What is Wireless Broadband?

'Wireless Broadband' is how we're delivering our Virgin Broadband products to you.

There are a few different ways you can get broadband internet. The main ones are ADSL, ADSL2, cable, and wireless. Unlike ADSL & ADSL2 broadband, wireless doesn't use your phone line to send and receive data. Instead, it sends data through the air, in much the same way as your mobile phone.

Virgin Broadband is delivered via the Optus 3G mobile network using HSDPA technology, which covers major metro areas across Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast. Basically all you really need to know about HSDPA is that it turbo-charges 3G data, giving you broadband internet speeds of 512 kbps and all the advantages of not needing to plug into a regular phone line!

To find out for sure if your home or regular stomping grounds are covered, visit our coverage locator.

4. Is Virgin Broadband really FREE?

Yes it is!

Virgin Broadband products are bundled phone and internet packages. When you get Broadband at Home for 24 months, you are getting a great value home phone package that includes unlimited standard local and national calls and much more, plus FREE broadband as well!

Note that minimum cost over 24 months is $1440 for Broadband at Home. Virgin Broadband products are bundled phone and internet packages.

5. How Do I Check My Account, My Broadband Usage & Webmail?

It's easy!

My Account let's you view/pay bills & update your details. Login using your Virgin Home (including area code) or Mobile phone number + the 6-digit PIN you selected when registering. Click here to go to My Account

My Broadband Usage shows how much broadband data you've been using. Login using your Virgin email address as User Name + the Email Password you selected when registering. Click here to go to My Broadband Usage

My Webmail is the Virgin online email service. Log in using your Virgin email address as the User Name + the Email Password you selected when registering. Click here to go to My Webmail.

Forgotten your 6-digit PIN or your email password? Contact us on 1300 555 100.

6. What about Wi-Fi? Is it the same as Wireless?

'Wi-Fi' literally means wireless fidelity. It's a way for devices to connect wirelessly to each other over short ranges.

In our case, Wi-Fi is a feature of the Broadband At Home modem, so you can connect it to your PC or laptop without wires, as long as your PC or laptop has that capability. If it doesn't, don't worry, you can also use a cable.

Because our Broadband At Home modem is also a router as well as having Wi-Fi, you can potentially connect several devices to it around your home to make your own little network. Sweet!

7. I'm a Virgin Mobile customer already. Can I get Virgin Broadband?

You sure can!

As well as the convenience to you of having all your telco needs covered by one company, if you are a Postpaid Mobile Customer, we can reward you for your loyalty with a monthly discount.

Click HERE to read more.

8. How fast is Virgin Broadband?

Virgin Broadband connections are usually 512kbps, throttled down to 64kbps (twice the speed of many others in these cases) if you exceed the generous monthly data usage allowance.

Read more about Broadband speed

9. How much can I download in a month?

With the Virgin Broadband at Home 60 plan, you can download 2GB per month. You can upgrade and double your downloads for an extra $10 per month, and download 4GB a month. With the Mobile Broadband plan, you can download 1GB per month. So by upgrading your plan, you can receive around 300,000 emails, surf a hundred thousand websites, or download around a thousand MP3s - every month! The Mobile Broadband plan means you can receive around 80,000 emails, view 15,000 websites, or download around 250 MP3s per month. Obviously, it all depends on the size of the files you're downloading, but rest assured, you can download a lot.

10. Is Virgin Broadband secure?

Yes.

Our modems are fitted with many security features to provide you with peace of mind, including ability to change or disable SSID, WEP/WPA/WPA2 encryption, IP/hostname filtering and WLAN MAC filtering.