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Make a SmartCall with Virgin Media and set your home phone free
29th October 2013
- Smartphone app allows customers to use unlimited calls from their home phone, even when roaming
- Worry-free WiFi calls with no surprise bills
- Intuitive app will help save on your mobile bill
Virgin Media, the UK’s leading communications and entertainment company, has made SmartCall, the no strings-attached free WiFi calling service available to its home phone customers allowing them to use the inclusive calls from their Virgin Media home phone talk plan on their smartphones.
Whether you are using your mobile to make a SmartCall from home, a beach in Greece or on your friend’s WiFi, SmartCall can save you money. The new app will give smartphone users the freedom to use their inclusive home phone calls over WiFi, regardless of where they are in the world and which mobile operator they use.
The intuitive app detects whether a SmartCall is possible and if the call is included in the user’s home phone talk plan. When used abroad the app will detect which time zone you are in and whether it is still free to make a call within your call plan. As it only works over a WiFi connection and not over 3G or 4G, you can only make a SmartCall when it’s free so there are no surprise bills.
Alex Perrin, director of home phone and convergence at Virgin Media said: “SmartCall is the smart way for our home phone customers to save money on their mobile bill. SmartCall will deliver what our customers have told us they want - an easy to use app with no surprise bills and genuinely free calls. With more people adding Virgin Media home phones to their bundles, we want to help customers save money and set their landline minutes free.”
SmartCallers can save money on calls to landlines, mobiles, 0845/70 numbers, directory enquiries, when roaming, or even when they don’t want to use up minutes or credit on their mobile bill. What’s more the app can even come to the rescue when you have no mobile signal, allowing calls to be made over WiFi instead.
The savings SmartCallers could make include:
- Up to £25 a year when calling 0845 and 0870 numbers from a mobile phone
- £3 per call to 118 directory enquiries by accessing Virgin Media directory enquiries from your mobile2
- £24 on roaming costs when in Europe £108 from the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and £180 from the rest of the world3
- A PAYG SmartCallers could save up to £75 a year on top ups4
SmartCall is just one of the ways that Virgin Media is helping customers make savings on their total communications and entertainment bill. The latest tariffs include big call allowances and free phone insurance, alongside super fast broadband services, proven to be 30% faster than competitors with the new Superhub router.5
SmartCall will be available to download in the UK on the 29th October for Android phones (version 2.3 and above) and iPhones (version i0S 5 and above).
Can you… | Virgin Media SmartCall | BT SmartTalk |
Only place calls when there is no additional cost | Yes | No |
Accrue 3G or 4G data charges that may appear on your mobile bill when at home or roaming | No | Yes |
Accrue minutes on home phone bill outside your allowance | No | Yes |
Talk Weekends (M) | Talk Evening and Weekends (L) | Talk Unlimited (XL) | Talk Unlimited Extra (XXL) |
£0 | £4.59 a month | £8 a month | £15 a month |
Unlimited calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles and 0870 numbers at weekends | Unlimited calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles and 0870 numbers at evenings and weekends | Unlimited calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles and 0870 numbers at any time | Unlimited calls to UK landlines, all UK mobiles, 0870 and 0845 numbers |
UK landlines begin 01, 02 and 03. All Virgin Phone talk plans also include calls to Virgin Media Directory Enquiries (118180).
Notes to editors
1. According to figures from the Post Office, consumers spend £25 a year calling 0845 and 0870 numbers: https://www.postoffice.co.uk/0845-numbers-costing-uk-consumers Customers on Virgin’s XXL Talk Unlimited Extra home phone package receives free calls to these numbers.
2. Calls to 118 118 directory enquiries from Vodafone Pay As You Go phones cost a minimum £3 per call and £2.98 from T-Mobile
3. Based on placing 2 hours of calls using standard Virgin Media pricing 2013
4. Based on average monthly top up of £6.30
5. Empirical testing undertaken by Farncombe Technology Ltd, June / July 2013
About Virgin Media
Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.
The company’s dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely available broadband speeds to homes and businesses. And we’re expanding this through our £3bn Project Lightning programme, which will reach 17 million premises.
Our interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones.
We launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and services to customers. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.
Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.
Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company. Together Virgin Media and Liberty Global serve 27 million customers across 14 countries.