Mobile Phone Services

[Puddleduck2]

We have always used Vodafone, are infrequent users and little data use. Vodafone will shortly increase our monthly bill from £15 + VAT to £22 + VAT, so I have been looking at all the various operators including some of the lesser known ones like Vigo, Lebara, Smarty.

I know it has been mentioned before, but I cannot find the links to comments about service around the broads and around the country as a whole from the major and minor providers. Anyone care to offer comments please?  Thank you.

 

[MauriceMynah]

My phone takes 2 sim cards. I have one for o2 and the other is Three. (I know, that makes 5!)  I find that a good mix with o2 as the first choice.

[ChrisB]

What will you be paying £22 for? My Vodafone is just under £32 but I am in the first year of paying off a Samsung S9 + unlimited data, calls and messages. I got through a load of data in Pembroke as both my son and I tethered to my phone. If you are paying £22 sim only it sounds a lot. Look for a Black Friday deal.

 

[Guest]

Not BT they are absolute pants on the Broads, we use 3, mostly ok but I think you will find that any sim will have its blind spot

[Smoggy]

If you are happy with vodafone signal go for lebara but go through the moneysavingexpert site, they do unlimited calls and texts + 100 international minutes + 2GB for a fiver.

[Poppy]

I switched to Sky , which uses the O2 network about 18 months ago. Found them to have far better coverage than EE - and not just on the Broads.  My wife is still with them and struggles to get a signal in the centre of Norwich !

I pay £17 monthly inc VAT - that also includes the 'phone.

[RS2021]

As well as checking coverage where you go. Also check coverage at home. I've heard of people who have changed networks only to find they can't use their phone at home.

[Helian]

I find Vodafone disappointing both down by the river in Brundall at at my in-laws in Lingwood, which is quite open and flat 

[Mouldy]

Not sure that there is one network that is better than the others.  We are both on EE and find that the service across The Broads is good.  There are one or two dead spots, but I’m sure that is true of the others.  Our son and daughter-in-law are both on O2 and find the signal in Brundall quite poor, whereas we get a reasonable reception there, but there are ares where the situation is reversed.

[SwanR]

Another vote here for O2.

[BroadAmbition]

I have a business contract through 'GriffTile that gives both me and MrsG practically unlimited everything. 

We both have iphones (Owned and paid off).  We are with EE and it seems to work well on the Broads for most areas

BIG POINT - I couldn't give a toss if it didn't as we don't spend our time afloat tied to our damn phones

Griff

[SteveO]

We have no problems with Vodafone, even in the darkest part of Horning. They are expensive though. I pay £11 for a sim only package with way more minutes than I could ever use, unlimited texts and 1 GB data, which I only come close to using up when I am on the boat. Might try Lebara when this is up for renewal.

[MauriceMynah]

8 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

BIG POINT - I couldn't give a toss if it didn't as we don't spend our time afloat tied to our damn phones

Sorry Griff but you're a bloody dinosaur. These days a mobile phone is no longer a luxury item, it's an essential piece of equipment. Without carrying a mobile with you, you'd need to carry a bulky camera into the riverside restaurants to photograph every damned meal you eat. 

[SwanR]

Trouble is that a mobile phone’s primary function is not making and receiving calls anymore. I don’t necessarily like it but I have become caught up myself in being online far more than I used to be. Sometimes you need to shut off from it all. But communication happens in so many ways now and increasingly they’re all available on our mobile phones. 

[grendel]

this is why my phone just does calls and texts, i have a tablet and a mifi router for anything else, mainly it stops me trying to squint at the phone screen.

[Puddleduck2]

Thanks for all the comments. My current deal is sim only for our two iPhones; unlimited minutes and txts and 1Gb data which is more than adequate. We are in the northern rivers area and Vodafone has been good most of the time as well as elsewhere when away on holiday. It can be such a pain to switch  but I will have to do so to save £10pm. Money saving website lists all the companies and the deals, so thanks whoever referred me to that.

 

[Tyna]

17 hours ago, Smoggy said:

If you are happy with vodafone signal go for lebara but go through the moneysavingexpert site, they do unlimited calls and texts + 100 international minutes + 2GB for a fiver.

This deal is currently half price so £2.50 a month for six months due to a black friday offer. It does not show up on the Money Saving website but when you click to go to the Lebara website the discount is there. They have a cheaper plan for £3.99 a month currently on offer for £1.99.

[Smoggy]

The lebara deal is 1000mins/texts without going through MSE, still a fiver though, I'm happy with it for the 2gb data.

 

[Puddleduck2]

Noted, ta!