More consumers are buying into the smartphone market as the handsets become more affordable to own, but the switching to smartphones has led to an increase in the use of mobile data use, and today we have news that Virgin Media has announced a new Premiere tariff that has unlimited data.

According to Recombu the new mobile phone tariff from the carrier includes all-you-can-eat data as well as free insurance for its customers, and begins at £26 per month with a two year contract. For this customers will be offered 2,500 minutes of talk time, unlimited SMS messages, unlimited calls to UK landlines, and unlimited data. If you are already a Virgin Media customer you are entitled to a £5 per month discount on the tariff as well as unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin users.

There are a number of handsets available free on the Premiere plan that includes the HTC Desire C, Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus, and Samsung Galaxy Ace. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is available on the new price plan at £41 per month.

Virgin Media cable and national customers also have the option of free insurance for the length of the tariff, which is priced at £7.99 per month for everyone else that covers the device for accidental damage, loss, theft, water and liquid damage, and 24 hour handset replacement are all covered. Mobile Rescue will also provide backups of contacts and a remote lock and locate option.

The carrier is also introducing three other new two year tariffs with the Premier 08 costing £33 that offers the same limits as Premiere but also offers 500 minutes of calls to 0845, 0870, 0808, and 0800 numbers. Starter costs £18 per month that features 200 minutes of talk time, 500 texts, and 500 MB of data, while the Essential package is priced at £23 with 600 minutes, unlimited texts, and 1GB of data, and all these tariffs are available £5 cheaper for Virgin Media customers.

Customers have the option of swapping between the various tariffs during the life of the contract even if it’s moving to a cheaper deal. The price plans are also available as a SIM only option with pricing starting at £25 per month.

The carrier piggy backs on T-Mobile’s UK network and following the merger with Orange to create Everything Everywhere, customers have access to the country’s largest 3G network. For more info on the new price plans click here. Do you like the look of the new Virgin price plans?