The coronavirus is affecting us all in every area of our lives, including in services that are available or not, during the pandemic.
Social distancing and self-isolation have made many of us stay home in lockdown during the viral infection. This is a time when we depend on specific services to be available to helps us cope, work, study and more.
Even though some service providers have limited certain products and services (especially those that require an engineer to come to your home), they still have plenty of services that can be ordered, switched and more online.
In this article, we’ll cover those services that have been affected and what other choices you have available during the pandemic.
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Sky TV
They’ve stopped new installations of their TV packages for now, as they required engineers to come to a customer’s home and install/setup Sky Q. However, the company is still taking orders for their Sky broadband deals.
Other alternatives include Virgin Media’s offer for a self-install option and Now TV offers Sky content online.
Ultrafast Broadband
G.Fast and FTTP, Openreach providers of ultrafast broadband, have stopped these products due to the requirement of an engineer needing to access a customer’s home. However, providers such as BT, Sky, EE and Zen are offering home broadband packages with 145Mb+ speeds. However, Virgin Media isn’t offering its cable broadband.
Alternatives include standard broadband and fibre broadband, with up to 70Mb, from Sky, BT and others that you can still order during the pandemic. Virgin Media broadband is also still offering their services for customers who want speeds higher than 100Mb.
New Phone Line Installations
If you need a new phone line installed, these orders have been put on hold for now by Openreach providers. These include BT. Plusnet, and Sky. The stop in installation services affects anyone who needs a new phone lines, as well as those who are making the move from Virgin Media.
You do have some alternatives, however. If you need a new phone line, it may be necessary to use mobile broadband for now. Virgin Media has bundles that include TV, broadband and phone services.
However, if you’re one of those customers looking to switch from Virgin Media, you’ll need to wait for now. Another option may be going with a pay as you go mobile service for the time being.
Live Sports
Many of us are missing live sports with many events being cancelled, or even postponed until after the pandemic. Now TV has decided to pause Sky Sports Pass signups, and Virgin Media has also paused their subscription offers to Sky sports channels, which also includes existing customers.
However, if you’re an existing Sky TV customer, you can choose to pause your Sky Sports subscription without notice.
BT Sport
BT is making it easy for BT sport customers to donate a month’s BT Sport subscription to the NHS or to request a bill credit. That’s a generous deal! They haven’t paused, however, as BT offers many non-live sports events you can watch.
You can choose to watch pre-recorded matches and events or enjoy some sports-related movies.
Telephone Orders
Most providers are working with reduced staff in their call centres right now, due to the virus. They’re making current customers their priority, such as Virgin Media, and making it possible for new customers to sign up for services online.
Closed Providers
The only provider that’s currently closed their services for new customers is Origin Broadband. They’re in the process of moving their employees to remotely working from home and working on their current customers right now. New signups are stopped until 1st June.
Alternative services include any other broadband provider unless you need a new phone line.
We hope this article has helped you to find alternatives for services you may be missing. We also hope that you and yours stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.
