• RIP Virgin Media email

    From Tweed@usenet.tweed@gmail.com to uk.telecom.broadband on Wed Sep 9 15:53:34 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.broadband

    https://www.theregister.com/networks/2026/09/09/virgin-media-offloads-email-services-to-third-party-provider/5295230

    Virgin Media is ditching its email services and offering customers a window
    in which to download their data and move to another email provider.

    The UK's second-biggest broadband provider is closing its own email service
    and offering users the option of transferring their addresses and mailboxes
    to Junara, a service operated by Australian email provider Atmail.

    Customers who want to retain their Virgin Media email address will be
    invited to transfer to Junara. The first year will be free for current
    Virgin Media customers, after which they will have to pay to continue using
    the service.

    Virgin Media email users will be contacted directly and given 45 days to
    sign up with Junara, save their data and move to another provider, or allow their account to close.

    The change affects all addresses ending in @ntlworld.com,
    @blueyonder.co.uk, @virgin.net, and @virginmedia.com.
    Virgin Media stopped issuing new email addresses to broadband customers in 2022, citing the growing popularity of dedicated services such as Gmail and Outlook.

    A spokesperson for the company told The Register: "As we focus and
    prioritize our investments and resource on ensuring our customers have the
    best connectivity experience, we have taken the decision to close the
    remaining Virgin Media email accounts. We're transferring our email service
    to Junara, a specialist cloud-based email provider owned by Atmail, giving users a clear route to keep their existing Virgin Media email address if
    they choose to."

    "We are writing directly to all impacted customers to clearly explain the changes and will provide a 45-day window to either sign up with Junara,
    move to an alternative email provider, or close their account. To support
    users through this transition, all current Virgin Media customers wishing
    to move to Junara will receive their first year of service free of charge,
    with additional support available for those who need it."

    Announcing the change in a blog post, Virgin Media O2 chief operating
    officer Alan Stott said most people now prefer dedicated email providers to accounts supplied by telecoms operators.
    "By transferring these email accounts to a specialist provider, we can
    focus our attention and investment on what we're ultimately here to do rCo provide fast and reliable broadband, mobile, landline and TV services, and
    give our customers the best possible experience."
    Virgin Media has not said how many active email accounts will be affected,
    but their users will have just 45 days to decide whether keeping their old address is worth signing up for a separate service


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  • From Nick Finnigan@nix@genie.co.uk to uk.telecom.broadband on Wed Sep 9 17:48:47 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.broadband

    On 09/09/2026 16:53, Tweed wrote:
    https://www.theregister.com/networks/2026/09/09/virgin-media-offloads-email-services-to-third-party-provider/5295230


    Customers who want to retain their Virgin Media email address will be
    invited to transfer to Junara. The first year will be free for current
    Virgin Media customers, after which they will have to pay to continue using the service.

    "Enter your email address to see the plans and pricing." Duh.

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  • From Andy Burns@usenet@andyburns.uk to uk.telecom.broadband on Wed Sep 9 18:16:04 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.broadband

    Tweed wrote:

    The UK's second-biggest broadband provider is closing its own email service and offering users the option of transferring their addresses and mailboxes to Junara

    Will they be better than Greenby, I wonder?
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  • From Roger Mills@mills37.fslife@gmail.com to uk.telecom.broadband on Fri Sep 11 16:28:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.broadband

    On 09/09/2026 18:16, Andy Burns wrote:
    Tweed wrote:

    The UK's second-biggest broadband provider is closing its own email
    service
    and offering users the option of transferring their addresses and
    mailboxes
    to Junara

    Will they be better than Greenby, I wonder?

    I very much doubt it. This is history repeating itself.

    I would strongly advise those affected to get their own domain, and use
    an email provider which is independent of any ISP. If they ditch the VM-related email addresses, that will make it far easier to switch ISPs.

    If they accept the migration to Junara, they'll have to pay after a year
    - so better to bite the bullet now, like I did with Plusnet/Greenby.
    --
    Cheers,
    Roger
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  • From Theo@theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk to uk.telecom.broadband on Fri Sep 11 20:25:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.broadband

    Roger Mills <mills37.fslife@gmail.com> wrote:
    I very much doubt it. This is history repeating itself.

    I would strongly advise those affected to get their own domain, and use
    an email provider which is independent of any ISP. If they ditch the VM-related email addresses, that will make it far easier to switch ISPs.

    If they accept the migration to Junara, they'll have to pay after a year
    - so better to bite the bullet now, like I did with Plusnet/Greenby.

    Since you'll be paying anyway, might as well pay somebody competent.

    But you could set up your domain and also take the free year of Junara,
    using that to catch anyone who still uses your old address. Eventually you should end up with an empty mailbox as nobody uses it (apart from spammers perhaps). Then you can safely cancel it.

    Theo
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  • From Roger Mills@mills37.fslife@gmail.com to uk.telecom.broadband on Sun Sep 13 14:46:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.broadband

    On 11/09/2026 20:25, Theo wrote:
    Roger Mills <mills37.fslife@gmail.com> wrote:
    I very much doubt it. This is history repeating itself.

    I would strongly advise those affected to get their own domain, and use
    an email provider which is independent of any ISP. If they ditch the
    VM-related email addresses, that will make it far easier to switch ISPs.

    If they accept the migration to Junara, they'll have to pay after a year
    - so better to bite the bullet now, like I did with Plusnet/Greenby.

    Since you'll be paying anyway, might as well pay somebody competent.

    But you could set up your domain and also take the free year of Junara,
    using that to catch anyone who still uses your old address. Eventually you should end up with an empty mailbox as nobody uses it (apart from spammers perhaps). Then you can safely cancel it.

    Theo

    That's precisely what I'm doing with Plusnet/Greenby - but I didn't
    spell out the detail. I'm using the free Greenby period to migrate
    everything to my own domain and email service with NetNerd, and will
    cancel Greenby before I have to pay.
    --
    Cheers,
    Roger
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