Virgin offers free paid channels and mobile data to aid families during lockdown

Virgin Media is offering households access to a selection of factual pay TV channels and mobile data for free in a bid to help families during lockdown.

Schools across the country are currently closed to students – except vulnerable children and those of key workers – as coronavirus cases continue to spiral.

In line with other network providers, Virgin has committed to offering families access to 20GB of mobile data per month to help towards online lessons and remote learning, as part of a Department for Education (DfE) scheme.

The firm has also zero-rated online learning resource website Oak National Academy, meaning access to the platform will not use up any of the customer’s data allowance.

To keep people entertained, Virgin Media is also offering temporary free access to 14 channels, including Animal Planet HD, Crime+Investigation HD, Discovery Science, Eurosport 1 and 2 HD and Sky History.

These will be available to people subscribed to its Mixit TV and Player bundles until February 9, the firm said.

Meanwhile, those with the Documentaries Personal Pick or the Mix bundle can expect to find Sky Nature and Sky Documentaries now included.

“As we have done since the start of this pandemic, we want to support our customers during the difficult months that lie ahead,” said Jeff Dodds, chief operating officer at Virgin Media.

“We know how important it is for people to have the connectivity to get online, as well as to stay entertained while spending more time at home.”