Gaming broadband

Low latency broadband for gamers offers a smoother, more responsive gameplay experience. And the faster your home broadband connection, the better it will be at multitasking several devices at the same time – so others in your home can stream and use the internet while you’re playing, without affecting your game as much. Of course, you’ll also have less of a wait to download games, patches and updates. You could let the games begin sooner.

When you’re playing a multiplayer campaign, you might want to strategise and chat tactics as a team. Having a superfast home broadband connection lets you have clear conversations with fellow gamers around the world, while you’re playing online, and you can even stream your gameplay live. If you’re trying to grow your Twitch or another channel, your streaming quality needs to be good. The higher it is, say 4K or HD, the more competitive your upload speed needs to be to cope, especially if you’re sharing your connection.

An Ethernet cable will always provide the best possible broadband connection and gaming experience. The benefit of having a physical connection, rather than using WiFi, is that an Ethernet cable is less likely to be affected by other factors in the home, such as electrical noise or distance from the Hub. The CAT9 type (or higher) is our favourite to recommend for gaming consoles – or any high-speed connected devices.

Before taking the plunge and signing up, have a think about:

Internet speeds

Look beyond peak upload and download speeds to check for fast and reliable, sustained speeds. Gaming broadband should be consistent and dedicated players will want as low a ping and as little lag as possible. We suggest a download speed that’s expected in the 365–380Mbps range at least. As well as these M350 Fibre Broadband speeds, our M500 and Gig1 speeds are also great for gaming. You can find out if these speeds are available at your home using the broadband postcode checker.

Usage

A large and generous data limit, ideally unlimited broadband, is what gamers need. All our broadband packages come with unlimited downloads. And if you like to unwind by losing yourself in a game straight after work or school, then you won’t want your broadband performance throttled at peak times, so check other providers’ traffic management policies.

Free gifts and incentives

Extras such as vouchers and free gifts can come with broadband packages, just check the terms and conditions of the offer for details on how to claim it. In the past, our customers have gotten their hands on all manner of gadgets that a gamer would love, from an Xbox to a Nintendo Switch. And not just new games consoles – tablets, smart speakers, headphones. The list goes on.

Contract length

Always check how long you’re committing for and choose the right one based on your circumstances and need for flexibility. We offer a choice of 30-day rolling broadband contracts and fixed-term deals, lasting 12, 18 or 24 months.

Price

Factor in any one-off fees, usually connected with set-up and installation, then pick the package which is the best value for what you need. Whether or not a deal is the right cost for your household all depends on your budget.

Customer service

Broadband problems can be extremely frustrating, particularly if you’re struggling to get help and support from your provider. Thankfully, servicing and repairs are included with Virgin Media broadband at no extra cost. So, if something goes wrong with Virgin Media kit that you’ve used and treated properly, we’ll get it repaired for nothing.

Online security

Shop for new online games and make in-game purchases with more peace of mind by registering for your 3 month free trial of Virgin Media Internet Security, powered by F-Secure (normally: £3 a month). No payment details are needed upfront to help you stay web safe and protect your personal information against viruses and malware.

Yes, it takes up more data to download and play some online games than others. For example, voice chatting and patches might bump up your hourly data usage. But it’s really nothing compared to streaming. Netflix HD can use up to 3GB an hour and even lower quality streaming, Netflix SD, still uses 1GB an hour. That’s a lot more data an hour than gaming.

Connection speed can make a big difference to a game if you need to make precise, perfectly timed moves or land your shots on target. It has a bigger effect on first-person shooters, real-time strategy games, massively online games and multiplayer online battle arenas, than on your slower, turn-based games.

Having a fast gaming broadband connection with a low ping can help make you a more competitive player. You see where you are on the map and what other gamers are up to in real-time, so you get to react quickly and instinctively to what’s happening.

It’s worth checking the broadband providers’ traffic management policies to find out if your connection might be throttled at peak times. If so, then you may have a better gaming experience if you avoid playing straight after work or school, when there’s high demand for the internet, as gameplay quality can be affected by your broadband speed.

We offer M350, M500 and Gig1 Fibre Broadband deals that are great for gaming.

Depends how busy your home is with people and devices. On the one hand, a single gamer living alone will be happy with our M125 Fibre Broadband. On the other, if you’re sharing our M350, M500 and Gig1 Fibre Broadband speeds can power several devices and are great for gaming – to sum up our good internet speeds for gaming guide, we suggest having a broadband package which provides average speeds of at least 362Mbps download and 36Mbps upload.

Sure! Our mobile broadband plans range from 3GB to 15GB a month. Just note that if you’re playing games online, your data allowance won’t last as long and you may end up using a lot of it to download a new game or install the updates and patches it needs.

If you can get unlimited broadband that’s the better option, as you won’t have to worry about a data cap: you can have as many gaming sessions as you like and won’t need to put down the controller until you’re ready. And by that, we mean your broadband connection won’t run out.