More people in the UK can now get free data from Virgin Media O2 for Christmas

The cost of living crisis continues to deepen. And to help people stay connected this Christmas, Virgin Media O2 announced that it is extending its National Databank initiative to 10 O2 stores across the UK.

As the carrier explained, the National Databank is like a food bank but for free mobile data, texts, and calls. And now, even more people in need can benefit from this initiative and get 20GB of free O2 data per month for up to six months. As per Virgin Media O2's calculations, this amount of data should be enough for around 220 hours of Internet browsing per month.

The 10 stores taking part in the program are in Ballymena, Broadstairs (Thanet Westwood Cross), Colchester, Hastings, Hull (Jameson Street), Norwich, Newport, Perth, Plymouth, and Stockton-on-Tees (Teesside Retail Park).

If you are an eligible user who wants to take advantage of the National Databank, you can visit one of these stores and ask an O2 employee for a 20GB data voucher.

Eligibles are those who are at least 18 years old, come from low-income households, and qualify in one or several of the following statements:

• have no access or insufficient access to the internet at home
• have no access or insufficient access to the internet when away from the home
• can not afford their existing monthly contract or top up

Virgin Media O2 also announced that it is providing an additional 1 million GB of free O2 data in order to help those in need stay connected this Christmas. The offering comes in the form of special O2 Christmas SIM Cards with 7GB of free data each, which can be found in O2 stores and online.

However, the Christmas SIM cards initiative will be available in O2 stores until December 31, 2022, and online until January 31, 2023, while stocks last for both. Also, you will need an O2 Pay As You Go £10 Big Bundle SIM to take advantage of the offer. But once you get the voucher, just scan the QR code, and you will be redirected to redeem the free data online.

But if you just want to buy a new phone from O2 or Virgin Media, feel free to check out our best O2 and Virgin Media phone deals. And if you are rolling with another UK carrier, you can check out our best Vodafone phone deals, best Three phone deals, and best EE phone deals.