Virgin Media has launched VIP, a new mobile phone tariff which it says is the cheapest in the UK to include unlimited texts, minutes and data.

Starting at just £26 a month for existing Virgin Media TV, broadband or home phone customers (who get £5 off their monthly bill), £31 for other customers, the deal also includes unlimited calls to 0800, 0870, 0845 and 0808 numbers - perhaps pre-empting Ofcom's move to make extra charges to freemium services more transparent.

In addition, the provider has launched VIP SIM Only for £15 a month. That includes unlimited texts, data and minutes too, on a flexible 30-day rolling contract. A pay-as-you-go deal is also available for £15 a month, where you get the unlimited data and texts, but with talktime restricted to the amount of credit you pay (in this case, £15).

All Virgin Media mobile customers also get unlimited free calls to other Virgin Media phones, including on PAYG.

Virgin Media TV, broadband or home phone customers also get free mobile phone insurance worth £7.99 a month. The £26 VIP tariff is available with low to mid-range handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy Fame or Nokia Lumia 620, on a 24-month contract. Phones higher up the echelon are available at higher monthly charges.

"We're delighted to offer our customers these exclusive and unbeatable offers they can't get anywhere else," said Graeme Oxby, executive director at Virgin Media. "We've built VIP to be the ultimate worry-free monthly tariff, with unlimited calls to many 08 numbers as well as inclusive insurance with 24 hour handset replacement for Virgin Media customers.

"In fact, we're so confident in our VIP pay monthly tariff that if customers can find a better tariff out there, we challenge them to take it."

You can find out more on Virgin Media's mobile site at virginmobile.com.