Covid-19 response
Mike Smith, Managing Director

Every day, people, businesses and public services rely on Virgin Media Business to stay connected. But in times like these, it’s even more critical for us to keep things running smoothly – and we’re working hard to do that.

Our network:
With more than 60% of emergency services in the UK relying on our connectivity, Virgin Media Business has long been at the core of UK PLC, playing an essential role in keeping businesses and public services connected. Right now those connections matter more than ever as we support the frontline workers saving lives during the covid-19 crisis. As well as powering thousands of businesses, we connect hospitals, care homes, emergency service call centres and local governments – the people working to keep us all safe. We have a responsibility to keep those customers connected whatever happens, and we’re working around the clock to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Our investment/commitment:
We operate the largest gigabit-capable network in the UK with fibre at its core. We’ve invested private capital to expand our network through Project Lightning and have added more than 2 million additional homes and businesses to our network since work began.  We’re continuing to invest to expand our network footprint and bring our services to more people in more parts of the UK, helping to boost connectivity and productivity right across the country. 

Our customers:
We’re continuing to support our customers – large and small – however we can; to stay connected and stay productive. We’ve rolled out a range of solutions to help set up remote working as securely and quickly as possible, and will be rolling out new flexible and fast ways for businesses to get connected. We have put continuity plans in place to help keep all of our customers connected during the coronavirus outbreak. We recognise that now more than ever, we play an essential role in helping our customers to continue trading under challenging conditions, and their people collaborating securely and effectively. Our support teams are in place to help, and are constantly keeping an eye on our network and its performance to make sure we can respond to extra traffic.

Our people:
The safety of our people and customers is our absolute top priority as we do everything we can to keep the country connected in these difficult times.  We are, of course, carefully monitoring Government advice to keep our people and our customers safe and have implemented a range of measures such as supporting home working; minimising the time our people spend in customer and premises; limiting non-essential travel; and going beyond official guidance to offer additional paid leave for any member of staff that needs to look after their children while schools are closed. 

Adjusting to the new everyday:
There’s no doubt we, as individuals, have seen a shift in our values and priorities. The things we took for granted are now, the things we care about most. The world has changed in a way no one could have imagined. Here at Virgin Media Business, we have all been touched by the bravery of the nation’s key workers, including many of our own people whose essential work is helping the country to stay connected, and we endeavour to continue to ‘do our bit’ in the face of adversity, and be here to support our customers on the challenging road ahead.