Virgin Media to offer short term mobile broadband contracts

Commenting on the recommendation by the Communications Consumer Panel, which advises Ofcom, for a "try before you buy" period in mobile contracts; and the decision by Virgin to Media to offer short term broadband contracts, James Parker, broadband manager at moneysupermarket.com said: "Both the proposal from the Communications Consumer Panel and the new contract offer from Virgin Media represent a shift in the market. A move to short term broadband contracts and allowing mobile users to ‘try before they buy' will give more people the power to trial a service or provider and its product.

"Recent research by moneysupermarket.com showed that three-quarters (73 per cent) claimed their broadband provider failed to explain the products sufficiently when looking for a new deal and a further three-quarters (77 per cent) said their mobile phone provider also failed to convey the product details appropriately. Poor service combined with 24 month contracts becoming common place in the past year has led to people locking into inappropriate mobile deals. Hopefully these moves will lead to better service across the board and encourage telecoms providers to offer customers a fairer deal with greater choice to suit their needs."