Best SIM deal with decent DATA speed and coverage?

Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
Forum Member
✭✭✭
Hi there,

The Vodafone contract runs out on my S3 (not LTE version) in about a month and am tempted to give one of the others a go (have always had O2 or Vodafone in the past as a lot of the time are out in the sticks for work).

I was wondering who had the best deal for speed with fairly good coverage?

I never really go over 1gb of DATA and only send say 100 texts a month and prob less than 300 mins of phobe calls.

I've always sworn by O2/Vodafone but fed up with getting just 2G or Edge.

Cheers, Mark.
«1

Comments

  • Steven L HunterSteven L Hunter Posts: 10,724
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    You could always try a 3 pay as you go SIM card top up £15 and get 300 mins unlimited texts and unlimited Internet then if it doesn't work coverage wise you could always move elsewhere. I always recommend vodafone but as you want more 3G coverage it's probably best with someone like 3 or one of the EE networks
  • BMRBMR Posts: 4,351
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    You could always try a 3 pay as you go SIM card top up £15 and get 300 mins unlimited texts and unlimited Internet

    Hasn't that been superceded by the 3-2-1 tariff.
  • djpalmer93djpalmer93 Posts: 210
    Forum Member
    BMR wrote: »
    Hasn't that been superceded by the 3-2-1 tariff.

    No it still applies.
  • Zee_BukhariZee_Bukhari Posts: 1,335
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    BMR wrote: »
    Hasn't that been superceded by the 3-2-1 tariff.

    the 3-2-1 is for people who just want to top up and get great rates without any add ons. the all in one 10/15 add ons are still available for those heavier users.

    3 is likely your best bet for overall 3G coverage and data speeds though.

    Essential Internet SIM 600 seems good for you at £12.90 per month for 600 mins, 5000 texts and 1GB data or you could get 200 mins, 5000 texts and all-you-can-eat-data for the same price.

    You could always stay on pay as you go aswell, top up £15 and get 300 mins, 3000 texts and all you can eat data.

    http://store.three.co.uk/SIM_Only/Voice_Pay_Monthly

    http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Get_better_value_with_an_Add_on
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Thanks for all the replies.

    May look into Three.

    Cheers, Mark.
  • thebtmanthebtman Posts: 706
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Three. I use it for business and home broadband (although I am on a 30 day contract One Plan). Wouldnt use any other carrier now, they have been brilliant.
  • finbaarfinbaar Posts: 4,818
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Have a look at T Mobile's £10 a month payg deal you get 1gb of data plus plenty of calls and data. They have better coverage than 3 if that is important. 3 are fine if you are urban but shit in the countryside where I live - Cumbria.
  • thebtmanthebtman Posts: 706
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    finbaar wrote: »
    Have a look at T Mobile's £10 a month payg deal you get 1gb of data plus plenty of calls and data. They have better coverage than 3 if that is important. 3 are fine if you are urban but shit in the country side where I live - Cumbria.

    Dont have better coverage in my experience. Surely its relative.

    OP: Get a free sim from Three and see about signal/coverage
  • Zee_BukhariZee_Bukhari Posts: 1,335
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Three & T-Mobile have pretty much the same 3G coverage, and by next year it'll be identical
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
    Forum Member
    Three & T-Mobile have pretty much the same 3G coverage, and by next year it'll be identical

    I'm 99.8% sure that finbarr is talking about 2G coverage.

    (get it! Because EE have 99.8% 2G coverage.... :D)
    (I'll get me coat :o)
  • YogimaxYogimax Posts: 139
    Forum Member
    thebtman wrote: »
    Dont have better coverage in my experience. Surely its relative.

    OP: Get a free sim from Three and see about signal/coverage

    I would strongly recommend that (if you have access to an old iPhone or android phone) that you buy a £10 PAYG Three SIM card and put it in it.
    Then install the Root Metrics app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootmetrics&hl=en-GB (or from iTunes) as recomended by the Countryside Alliance, and just see how the coverage compares to your existing provider.
    I did this and compared Three coverage to EE in Northern Ireland for a month, and have now switched to a Three SIM only plan.

    It's really a case of "Try before you buy" - your mileage may vary :D
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Yogimax wrote: »
    I would strongly recommend that (if you have access to an old iPhone or android phone) that you buy a £10 PAYG Three SIM card and put it in it.
    Then install the Root Metrics app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootmetrics&hl=en-GB (or from iTunes) as recomended by the Countryside Alliance, and just see how the coverage compares to your existing provider.
    I did this and compared Three coverage to EE in Northern Ireland for a month, and have now switched to a Three SIM only plan.

    It's really a case of "Try before you buy" - your mileage may vary :D

    Thanks for that (and all the other replies).

    Mark.
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Just an update to say I got a T-Mobile SIM yesterday and although the speed was good up the town (10meg) it was a lot slower outside my house and then had hardly any reception to nothing inside my house.

    What made it worse is they did not make it clear that I had to send a text to activate some bundle so I ate through the credit and the store said they could not give me another £10 and I would have to top up again - so it's gone in the bin.

    Will probably try Three next and will hopefully get better reception at home (where you really need reception and crazy that there is really no reception in a major town.
  • jazzyjakejazzyjake Posts: 1,083
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    thebtman wrote: »
    Three. I use it for business and home broadband (although I am on a 30 day contract One Plan). Wouldnt use any other carrier now, they have been brilliant.

    i am actually thinking of selling my iphone and using the money to buy a phones handsfree
  • Trsvis_BickleTrsvis_Bickle Posts: 9,202
    Forum Member
    Three & T-Mobile have pretty much the same 3G coverage, and by next year it'll be identical

    Surely it depends which locations(s) you're in?

    I've been testing a Three SIM alongside T-Mobile and found T-Mobile's coverage better although Three was undoubtedly faster in those areas with a signal from both. There's no definitive answer - it depends on individual circumstances.
  • enapaceenapace Posts: 4,303
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Surely it depends which locations(s) you're in?

    I've been testing a Three SIM alongside T-Mobile and found T-Mobile's coverage better although Three was undoubtedly faster in those areas with a signal from both. There's no definitive answer - it depends on individual circumstances.

    I think that's likely true of anywhere at the moment simply because T-Mobile Customers have a 2G backup and have access to old orange 3G masts. Three is probably faster because most of the masts it uses are MBNL ones. I think as 4G is rolled out and MBNL 3G upgrades finish late next year we will start to struggle to see a massive difference between either.
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I'm starting to think O2 and Vodafone are best for me as got a Three SIM today and same as T-Mobile with hardly any to no reception at home.

    Did I hear somewhere that Three were going to do voice over wireless network (or did I dream it)?

    Cheers Mark.
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Just outside my house now and still no Three reception.

    Guess it's off to O2 or Vodafone when my contract is up as God knows what it will be like in the sticks of Anglia when I can't even get any reception in Harlow.
  • gothergother Posts: 14,655
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Might be worth trying 3 they phoned me yesterday offering me 900 minutes , unlimited texts , unlimited data for £15.90p/m sim only deal 12 month contract. I declined as i'm in contract with Orange but she did say if i change my mind just pop into a store as this offer is on permantly now.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
    Forum Member
    gother wrote: »
    Might be worth trying 3 they phoned me yesterday offering me 900 minutes , unlimited texts , unlimited data for £15.90p/m sim only deal 12 month contract. I declined as i'm in contract with Orange but she did say if i change my mind just pop into a store as this offer is on permantly now.

    Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

    OP, Do you get Three or T-Mobile signal at your work or regular locations that you visit where you normally just get 2G on Voda.

    If so then it may be worth looking into one of Three's signal boxes. If not then it's probably worth sticking to a Voda/O2 network.
  • lost boylost boy Posts: 1,982
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    enapace wrote: »
    I think that's likely true of anywhere at the moment simply because T-Mobile Customers have a 2G backup and have access to old orange 3G masts.

    Not necessarily, particularly in areas that have been "optimised" - currently EE proudly provide 'outdoor only' 2G here, while Three provide strong 3G.
    enapace wrote: »
    Three is probably faster because most of the masts it uses are MBNL ones. I think as 4G is rolled out and MBNL 3G upgrades finish late next year we will start to struggle to see a massive difference between either.

    Yeah, that's the theory. In EE's case they'd need to switch masts back on here for that to work properly - easily done I'd guess, seeing as Three are using 3 former EE masts within a mile of me...
    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    OP, Do you get Three or T-Mobile signal at your work or regular locations that you visit where you normally just get 2G on Voda.

    If so then it may be worth looking into one of Three's signal boxes. If not then it's probably worth sticking to a Voda/O2 network.

    +1
  • Zee_BukhariZee_Bukhari Posts: 1,335
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    gother wrote: »
    Might be worth trying 3 they phoned me yesterday offering me 900 minutes , unlimited texts , unlimited data for £15.90p/m sim only deal 12 month contract. I declined as i'm in contract with Orange but she did say if i change my mind just pop into a store as this offer is on permantly now.

    Three don't offer unlimited texts on any of their packages, they offer 5,000 though on all their packages (except PAYG) I think which is more than enough.

    Was this deal with a phone by any chance because anyone can get a deal with Three with 2,000 minutes, 5,000 3 to 3 minutes, 5,000 texts and unlimited data for £15 per month
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 37
    Forum Member
    If you're planning on sticking with your existing 3G handset and not upgrading to 4G then Three would be your best best. They have hsdpa+ instead hsdpa and are the only UK provider to offer this. However I would suggest upgarding to 4G as its the fastest thing although you will end up devouring your 1GB allownce as browsing will be so fast and easy that you'll probably browse more. You could try seeing which deals are the best using a comparison site like www.comparisim.com to make sure your getting good value but by and large three is quite cost effective.
  • theAREtheARE Posts: 1,847
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    GiffGaff £10 Goodybag would give you 500 minutes of calls, unlimited text and 1Gb of data for a month

    Extra £5 of free credit if you order and activate a SIM from this link :D
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

    OP, Do you get Three or T-Msignal at your work or regular locations that you visit where you normally just get 2G on Voda.

    If so then it may be worth looking into one of Three's signal boxes. If not then it's probably worth sticking to a Voda/O2 network.

    The problem is I'm never at a normal location as I am a mobile engineer and can find myself one morning in Southend and then the afternoon in Cromer.

    Will give it a few more days but will prob go across to Giff Gaff for a while with my S3 until there is a handset I really want out and then go back to Vodafone (as get 20% discount rough my work and then hopefully they might have sorted out the 3G and 4G a bit by then).

    I'm not really worried about 4G speeds but would like to get at least 3meg download speed on 3G and it to be available in more places.
Sign In or Register to comment.