Which network is best?

paulac

Hi, I'm with o2 at the moment with pay as you go and I'm spending bout €100-€120 a month! Wanted to switch to a bill phone but wasn't sure which was the best, I text and call english mobiles a lot! Any suggestions? Only thing, my sis may come home from england in six months. I really haven't a clue which network is best cos when you ask the salespeople they all say their own!

JTMan

To call/text the UK on bill pay will cost you ...

Up to 69c per minute on O2 and 25c per text
Uo to 69c per minute with Vodafone and 25c per text
Up to 42c per minute with meteor (most tarrifs are lower) and 15c per text
30c per minute with 3 and 25c per text

source:
http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Personal/Price+plans/Pay+monthly/Other+call+charges
http://www.meteor.ie/billpay_international.html
http://www.vodafone.ie/phonestariffs/ourtariffs/other/international/index.jsp
http://www.three.ie/international/band_1_1.htm

I would say that Meteor are probably your best bet for value international texts and calls. Maybe there Talk 200 package. It is worth checking out callcosts.ie for independent advice.

ardmacha

However even with your present arrangements you should be using AFT for the texts and the likes of Dome Telecom for the calls to Britain. Full use of these might mean you hadn't such a big bill.

Random

O2 - get their UK addon for €2pm and pay 25c per minute - http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Personal/Price+plans/Pay+monthly/Add+ons
Their text cost are 25c (but you get 250 free international webtexts).

Meteors SMS are far cheaper to the UK at only 15c though. If you're gonna be sending a lot of SMS on the move then Meteor might be better for you.

Have you considered maybe getting a 3G handset with Skype and a data bundle or something?

Terrontress

If you get 3 mobile on bill pay, the calls to the UK are included in your free allowance. Once you go past that, the calls to the UK, including mobiles, are the same cost as calling Ireland. There is a 3 add-on that you can get unlimited 3 to 3 calls for free, which could be handy if your sister is on 3 although I don't know if it works 3IRL to 3Uk

nick23

Go here
http://www.callcosts.ie/mobile_phones/Mobile_Calculator.123.LE.asp

It'll best help you calculate which network will suit you. Unfortunately it doesnt take into account calls to outside ireland. May help you a bit tho!

P.S. Personally I'd stay away from 3 based on bad personal experiences

Blaster99

I can't imagine that you'll find a cheaper provider than 3 in your case, simply because if you're a bill payer you can call UK landline and mobiles within your minute bundle. Your saving will depend on the amount of minutes you use currently. With that level of monthly spend I can't imagine pre-pay will be the best option.

Some people have issues with 3, of course. I don't personally have any issues and my O2 bills were halved.

skearon

nick23 wrote:

Go here
http://www.callcosts.ie/mobile_phones/Mobile_Calculator.123.LE.asp

It'll best help you calculate which network will suit you. Unfortunately it doesnt take into account calls to outside ireland. May help you a bit tho!

P.S. Personally I'd stay away from 3 based on bad personal experiences

Never had a problem with 3, switched my wife to it over a year ago and her bill halved from Vodafone.

In general Billpay will give you much cheaper calls than pay as you go, which I can never why people use unless its for their kids' mobiles

stereo_steve

Don't listen to any of them

Has to be Meteor!!

Cheapest international texts and if you give a sim to your friend in England, you can call them for free if you make them your phone a friend for free, they will also receive the call for free.

Easy peesy!

HiredGun

I believe that 3 isn't a good deal for international calls. 3 charges 30ct per minute for calls to the UK. Don't confuse calling to the UK with roaming - when you're roaming in the UK your calls will come out of your bundle but not when calling to the UK! My big issue is that with 3 sending texts to Vodafone UK and Orange subscribers is impossible!!

Up until 2004 Meteor made no distinction between calls in Ireland and calls to the UK when you were on Bill Pay. They realised that they were losing out big time and that they could charge more so they took that feature out of the new Bill Pay contracts. On Talk 60 and Talk 200 you still pay 29ct or 28ct. You can text to all networks.

O2's 2 euro add-on for international calls is in my opinion a decent deal. The per minute rate is 25ct for calls to all UK numbers. And texting to all UK networks just works.

O2 would get my personal vote. But also check out VoIP solutions like Truphone!