Dare to Share

The mobile phone market is an absolute minefield so it’s no wonder we all just stick with whatever network we’re with and pay whatever they decide to charge. The thing is there’s a lot of great mobile phone deals out there but you really have to hunt around. I’ve done all of the hunting around for you so if you only want to spend £10 a month on your mobile phone then read on and I’ll attempt to unravel the deals out there.

I won’t be looking at the contract deals as a) there aren’t any for under a tenner, with the recent exception of 3 Mobile and their £9 a month tariff and b) a lot of people either get refused a contract deal or simply want to be in control of how much they’re spending.

Mobile phone tariffs seem to chop and change all the time so I’ll probably revisit this topic later on in the year to see what’s around then. If you’ve got another price bracket or any other factors in mind then please let me know and I’ll look into it for you.

Personally I would just buy the SIM card and insert that into a phone you’ve already got or get a cheap one on eBay. If you’re wanting to reduce your monthly outgoings then there’s no point in spending a fortune on a flashy new phone - if you do then I’d suggest getting a pay monthly deal. I’ll explore these another day.

Remember that the deals I’ve found below all require you to top up at least £10 per month. This doesn’t mean you have to top up each month but to get the amount of minutes and texts I’ve mentioned below then most often you will. Any of those that I’ve listed as “X mins / X texts” means that you can also have a combination of the two - you don’t just have to have one or the other.

3 Mobile: 100 mins / 100 texts (12p per min / 12p per text)
I’m not a huge fan of 3 Mobile due to their poor customer service record. Speak to anyone that has had to deal with them and you will know what I mean. But if you must then

Asda Mobile: 125 mins / 250 texts (8p per min / 4p per text)
Currently offering the cheapest minutes and texts on the market so I’m sure other will follow suit if Asda do well in this market. They use the Vodafone network so a solid and reliable infrastructure is used behind the scenes.

Lebara: 125 mins / 250 texts (10p per min / 10p per text)
Probably one you’ve not heard of, and to be honest neither had I until the other day! They also use the Vodafone network and the thing I like about Lebara is that you can call around around the world at a fraction of the price you would be able to with other mobile phone companies. Prices start at just 4p to call abroad. Also at 10p per min/text they do seem to offer good value. Please note that the roaming charges are still very high (this is the price you pay when you use your phone abroad).

O2 (SIM Only): 150 mins / 300 texts (20p per min / 12p per text)
Only available until the end of January ‘09 (but I’m sure they’ll be plenty of offers after that time) this seems to be a good general tariff if you phone and text. Voicemail is also free.

Orange (Dolphin plan): 50 mins & 300 texts (20p per min / 10p per text)
Also includes the 2 for 1 Orange Wednesday which entitles customers for 2 for the price of 1 on cinema tickets - take note though that there is a limit on the amount of tickets they have available.

Orange (Canary plan): 50 mins+120 mins for w’ends / 100 texts (20p per min / 10p per text)
If you top up £10 per month you will receive 120 mins extra to use only at weekends. Also includes the 2 for 1 Orange Wednesday which entitles customers for 2 for the price of 1 on cinema tickets - take note though that there is a limit on the amount of tickets they have available.

T-Mobile 50 mins / 100 texts (20p min / 10p text)
T-Mobile charge 20p for the first 2 minutes every day and then 10p per minute thereafter. Not the best deal around though.

Tesco Mobile 100/200 mins / 200/400 texts (20p/10p min / 10p/5p text)
Okay, the prices and inclusive texts/mins may look confusing but basically standard calls are 20p and standard texts are 10p but you can nominate 5 numbers that you use the most and you will then get those for half that price. So obviously if you only call or text these 5 people then you’ll get double the amount of time and texts. If you continually top up £10 a month then you’ll receive an extra £10 of credit (this has been factored in). I reckon this is a pretty good deal for a lot of people - I know there’s only so many people I call regularly.

Virgin Mobile: 66 mins / 100 texts (15p per min / 10p per text)
I do find Virgin Mobile’s structure a bit weird. Basically it’s 15p for the 1st 5 mins each day, then free for the next 5, then back to 15p thereafter. Texts are 10p for the first 5, then free for the next 5, then back to 10p. Texts are reduced to 5p if you text someone else on Virgin but to be honest I don’t know anyone that uses this network, perhaps due to their weird tariff structure.

Vodafone (SIM Only): 100 mins & 500 texts (18p/40p per min / 12p per text)
A pretty good deal if you text alot with the occasional call. The cost of calling other mobiles after you’ve used your free minutes rises steeply to 40p per min (or 18p for calling landlines and Vodafone users). Texts are charged at 12p thereafter, but how can anyone use 500 texts in a single month - that’s just over 16 a day!

Summary

It really depends on how you use your phone each month to say which deal is best. If you hardly use your phone at all then I would go for the Asda Mobile PAYG deal due to the price of each text and minute. If you text most of the time then the Vodafone SIM Only deal with 500 texts a month is my choice. If you call people then 150 minutes and 300 texts with o2 SIM Only is good, but if you only call and text a few of the same people then 200 minutes and 400 texts on o2 is fantastic.

Remember to check the cashback sites for any deals the mobile phone companies have on at the time of purchase.

Let me and everybody else know how you get on and what deal you went for by posting a comment below.