VIRGIN Media O2 is considering plans to bring back a key service it axed three years ago – and it could lead to cheaper products.
Insiders suggest the telecoms giant could resurrect Virgin Mobile in an effort to win back customers, according to The Telegraph.
Another option reportedly being considered is to launch an O2 broadband service.
If either of these products were launched they could mean cheaper prices for customers.
Virgin Mobile was axed in August 2023 after Virgin Media and O2 combined to form Virgin Media O2 in 2021.
Both companies already had their own mobile services, but only O2 operated its own network.
Virgin Mobile was phased out to cut costs and simplify operations and all 3million existing Virgin Mobile customers were moved onto O2 plans.
But Virgin Media O2 has come under pressure after losing customers to BT Openreach and smaller broadband providers, called altnets.
Virgin Media O2 currently has 5.5 million broadband customers after losing 30,000 to these companies.
Last month it was reported that the company’s co-owners, Liberty Global and Telefonica, were preparing proposals to cut £600million in costs across the UK business.
The company currently has about £22billion of debt and its bond prices plummeted in recent weeks.
This was because the Competition and Markets Authority suggested it may block the £2billion acquisition of Netomnia by nexfibre, a joint venture co-owned by the parents of Virgin Media O2.
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It had been hoped that acquiring Netomnia would boost Virgin Media O2’s broadband products and customer base.
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “Against a backdrop of challenging broader market conditions, Virgin Media O2 has a robust capital structure and we have proactively de-risked our medium term financing with our debt fully swapped at a low cost, an average tenor of 5 years and no maturities until 2029, meaning we have flexibility for future.
“As reflected in our 2026 guidance, we are on track to deliver £200million of Adjusted Free Cash Flow in 2026 and continue to invest heavily in our business to lay strong foundations for future.”