Mobile phone data/internet allowances

[Piff]

Time for a new phone. I'm not a heavy user, currently using a very basic Nokia with a calls & texts allowance.

Moving into the 21st century it would be useful to be able to check e-mails at lunch time & internet occasionally.

I had my eyes on a deal which had a 500mb data allowance, but today T Mobile have changed their package structures to include either 100mb, 750mb or 1.5gb of data a month.

Not bothered which network (other than 3 as SWMBO has continuing problems with loss of network coverage for days at a time in this area)

As I haven't used mobile internet before, I haven't got a clue how many mb's I am likely to need

Any advice appreciated on how much actual time (minutes?) 100mb gives?

 

[wemorgan]

A friend went through the same process as yourself a few months ago.

He was eventually able to find a monthly deal with the network 3 with unlimited data transfer, 300 minutes, loads of texts, free Samsung phone for for £18/month.

At that price he thought it was hardly worth considering some slightly cheaper packages with then the worry of going over the data allowance.

I appreciate the above is with 3 network, but I hope it shows the kind of deal which is out there.

 

[Piff]

I was looking at a 300 minute, 300 texts & 500mb data for £20/month, with cash back to take it down to about £15/month.
Building site use for the phone so was looking initially at a Motorola Defy Plus, then they introduced a JCB edition. Not a fan of "branded" products but this added a tougher skin & a 24 month warranty.
Was all ready to order until they changed the tarriff content!
Now back to considering how much internet use I actually need.
Most of the tarriffs include more texts than call minutes. I only use about 10 to 20 texts a month as I can't be bothered to type the message. Would rather phone for a discussion than endless texts going backwards & forwards.

 

[Igurisu]

Not sure how long you want to commit for, but we have 2 in our house from Talkmobile. The network they use is Voda, so pretty good. If you can go for a two year plan then they have a good range for £12 per month Talkmobile : Pay monthly phones includes 1Gb data.

 

[Piff]

With talk mobile at the moment. Currently pay £5 a month for 50 mins & 50 texts.
Customer services are cr*p.
For example I filled in their "contact us" form on their web site asking about upgrades 3 to 4 weeks ago - no response so far.
For example current phone developed fault. Told to take it to car phone warehouse for repair. They claimed I had dropped it (I hadn't) therefore not covered by warranty. Phone returned to me totally dead. Complained to talk mobile. They offered compensation then failed to pay. Took about 6 months & threat of ombudsman before they listened to their recording of phone calls (I had to give them date & times of calls) before payment was dispatched.

Prepared to sign up for 2 years, particularly as JCB branded Motorola Defy has 2 yr warranty.

 

[redbaron]

Surely no self respecting Mercedes driver would have anything other than Vodafone?

Not that I am biased (much)

 

[MicB]

I have just bought a used iphone 3GS and therefore staying with O2 on a sim card only deal.......had that not been the case I would have switched to Tesco who seem to be offering decent deals at the present.

Mic

 

[Benzowner]

Just done the very thing with Vodafone and an interesting bit is that for the first 3 months they give a "usage amnesty" If you bill goes above the plan you have decided on, you have the option to upgrade your plan and no retrospective charges. I am sure other providers will do the same. I went for 300 minutes, millions of texts and 250MBite I was told to watch out for other nasties that may infalte your bill, one of which was SMS messages, which I think is picture texting althoug emailing pictures is ok

 

[Sp!ke]

I'm a pretty heavy user of my phone and I struggle to hit 500mb per month. I use WIFI at work and at home however.

Voda do a data deal when abroad that is £2 per day for 20mb and I find that is an easy target to stay below.

 

[Piff]

Consulting with number 2 son, he has a contract with 250mb/month. He uses his for checking football scores, checking e-mails & facebook and occasional web browsing.
He uses about 50mb a week.
I doubt I would use quite as much as him, but I'm not sure 100mb/month will be sufficient.

 

[Mr E]

Mrs E has 500mb on hers - she doesn't come close to that. With BT Broadband you get access to BT FON, so for a large part of the time she's actually hooked into a WiFi rather than the data usage. She also has a usage monitor app that tells her how much she's used in a particular period.

I'm the same - have 1Gb but don't get anywhere near that for the same reasons.

 

[@MARK]

Looking on the T-Mobile packages I would say 100mb is not enough for most users and would see you paranoid about your usage all the time

750mb is plenty

BUT

T-Mobile don't cut you off when you hit your usage cap. They just restrict access to streaming video etc. Email and pure browser usage will continue to work no matter how far over your limit you have.

Also with all carriers and phones, make sure you set up your phone so that it uses your home wifi network when in the house. As this is where you tend to do things like Youtube etc, it will really reduce the amount of mobile data you use

 

[Piff]

Looks like I may have a solution.
Buy the phone I want - found it online for £240 (which sperad over 24 months is £10 per month)
Talk Mobile sim only 6 month contract - 300 minutes, 1000 texts & 500mb data £8.00/month
or Orange Dolphin sim only 12 month contract - 150 minutes, 500 texts & 250mb data £7.00/month
Although still looking, I think the Talk Mobile is currently on top as their carrier is Vodafone and I have no issues with signal coverage.