New Three [business] Sim-Only: 3,000 mins, 3,000 texts and 15Gb data: €20

whiterebel

batmanzed wrote: »

god's toy wrote: »

I know technically you can't use hotspot/tethering with new contracts on three but I wonder if this will be enforced with this new deal?

Say what now! Excuse my ignorance, I'm with 3 the last 2½ years and use my hotspot for all my broadband requirements, (downloading, surfing, sky on demand ect) should I not be able to do this, or if I change to this plan will I lose this ability?

Yes, since 1/1/2012

witnessmenow

Can you get a free 3 sim card? The website seems to give me a free sim card, but requires me to buy €10 credit.

Soarer

Is this the one?

If it is, are you allowed sign up for this as an individual, like you are with corporate plans in health insurance?

Cushie Butterfield

kn wrote: »

I don't think there are any worries on that score as Vodafone and 3 have merged their networks (eg Vodafone network is providing edge coverage where 3 3g does not reach) and 3 have masts all over the place with the NBS.

I'd have to disagree with the bit about there being no worries on that score!

The coverage map is not accurate. Customers have experienced problems being released from contract because the map shows coverage, but for various reasons are stuck on Edge at home or at work, or have to go outside to use their phone, or worse still not even getting an Edge signal.

Yes you piggyback on Vodafone 2G, but you could remain on that until doomsday unless you remember to toggle in & out of airplane mode, as some phones don't seem to return to 3G automatically when re-entering an area with 3G. While piggybacking data is either non-existant or so slow that it's of no use.

Just do a search for '3G Coverage' in the Talk to Three forum, each time you get to the bottom of the list of search results keep clicking 'Show More Results' & you'll see why I suggested that people test the network out first with a prepay SIM. Some people mightn't experience problems but some will, so it's best to be sure - that way you won't get any surprises.

Soarer

But if you order online, surely your covered under Distance Selling Regulations if your coverage is carp?

Cushie Butterfield

Yes, you are - but anyone experiencing problems mightn't have fully experienced them within the timeframe allowed. Then it could be the case that Three dig their heels in & make you go through a long drawn out testing & proving process, resulting in them saying that if the coverage map says you have coverage, then you have coverage even though you don't, & refusing to release you from what's left on your contract by that stage.

I'm not trying to derail this thread or to turn it into a Three bashing one, as they do offer the best deals by far, but it might be worth people's while having a browse through the Talk to Three forum.

Kristopherus

Cushie Butterfield wrote: »

Yes, you are - but anyone experiencing problems mightn't have fully experienced them within the timeframe allowed. Then it could be the case that Three dig their heels in & make you go through a long drawn out testing & proving process, resulting in them saying that if the coverage map says you have coverage, then you have coverage even though you don't, & refusing to release you from what's left on your contract by that stage.

I'm not trying to derail this thread or to turn it into a Three bashing one, as they do offer the best deals by far, but it might be worth people's while having a browse through the Talk to Three forum.

I'd expect that any reception issues are in the course of being solved with the infracture tie-up between Three & Voda. Where I work & play in the West , my phone jumps on to Voda, and then back to Three, without any prompt. This suits me fine, as I wont be going on the net while working or driving.

I think this is a cracking deal. Wonder will all the other networks reduce their 3g plans with the onset of 4g?

Wizard

Just went into a carphone warehouse and enquired about this, need to sign up using a company letterhead and registered vat number, guess thats the personal users gone , Shame, was a great deal

Fuzzy_Dunlop

My Meteor contract is just up. This'll do nicely!

fisherking

When does this launch?

Fungus wrote: »

A brand new offer from Three for €20.00 per month:
3,000 any network any time minutes ('Unlimited'),
3,000 any network texts ('Unlimited'),
15 GB data ('all you can eat').
Sim-only with 12 month contract.

Launches in the next few days.

This offer knocks-the-socks off the Tesco and eMobile sim-only unlimited offers or be it with a 12 month contract.

Source: Sunday Business Post.

kn

Wizard wrote: »

Just went into a carphone warehouse and enquired about this, need to sign up using a company letterhead and registered vat number, guess thats the personal users gone , Shame, was a great deal

That's the 3 sim only business plan (which is fabulous value btw) they were referring to which works out at €24.60 incl VAT and is unlimited with a range of extras.

What the OP is referring to is a plan that has not yet been launched by 3 for €20/month that is not quite 'unlimited' although for 99.9% of people it effectively is.

Wizard

Cheers kn, really hope to get this deal, seems perfect for my needs

Cantona's Collars

3 stores don't seem to know anything about this deal,if it's not restricted to Business only it'd be ideal for the missus.

I'll keep an eye on this thread for more info.

Cushie Butterfield

witnessmenow wrote: »

Can you get a free 3 sim card? The website seems to give me a free sim card, but requires me to buy €10 credit.

If you ask the Three Reps over on the Talk to Three forum they will arrange to post one out to you without topping up, or you could get one in a Three store.

upandcumming

Did someone say that you can use your bundle when you're in a Three network abroad? As in the North?

StaticNoise

Yes, Three Like Home (UK, Italy, etc.) will remain on all packages, as it is a global deal (apart from one country).

Oracle

Question has just been asked about this offer over on the Talk to Three forum: http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056921179

Oracle

Originally posted by Three: Sheena
I believe you are referring to the Sim Only Business plan here - http://www.three.ie/business/priceplans/sim-only.html
That is only available for our Business customers, but check out our personal Sim Only offers here - http://www.three.ie/products_services/priceplans/billpay/sim-plans.html

Disappointing!
Forecast for Three Ireland shows storms, bitter cold and squally showers.

StaticNoise

Don't get worried- there is a new plan (not business) that they are not mentioning before launch, or before being officially permitted to do so. It is all speculative at the moment.

Uriel.

Solair wrote: »

Glad to see there's a proper price war kicking off though.

The MVNOs like eMobile and Tesco seem to have really thrown the cat amongst the pigeons. Even Vodafone is attempting to be price competitive with that "Red" plan.

Tbh I don't think VF's red plan is competitive at all. In facts, it's rather poor. the best offering you have really is €55 a month for 2gb of data. Fair enough their lowest offering is €35 but you get a measly 500mb which is not worth a damn throwing it at a real smartphone user. I think with add ons you can bring the €35 package up to 2GB put is will cost an extra €12per month (so total package is €47). And that's a 24 month contract - complete joke if you ask me.

I am on a legacy VF contract at the moment and i Have 2GB - plan is costing me €45 per month. I went onto that plan about 4 years ago - so in that case VF are as about competitive as they were 4 years ago :rolleyes: thankfully my contract is up next month. I'll be switching to threepay, although I am not a particularly great three fan (was previously with them). But for €20 a month and 15GB... you can't go to far wrong (in Dublin anyway)

Oracle

Talking of ridiculous data allowances, according to O2 you'll "get all the internet you need with 700Mb" :rolleyes:

Shiny

I'm on the Meteor €15/Month plan and I'm still tempted to switch to this. The reception definitely cant be worse than I'm getting now! Calls dropping in my apartment in Dublin and 1 bar of edge at home in Laois....

madmoe

Shiny wrote: »

I'm on the Meteor €15/Month plan and I'm still tempted to switch to this. The reception definitely cant be worse than I'm getting now! Calls dropping in my apartment in Dublin and 1 bar of edge at home in Laois....

Tempted as well!

GinjaNinja

madmoe wrote: »

Tempted as well!

dido, on same meteor plan and billling is a nightmare this year. nightmare.
1gb just aint' enough now with spotify

Oracle

GinjaNinja wrote: »

dido, on same meteor plan and billling is a nightmare this year. nightmare.
1gb just aint' enough now with spotify

Try 48 months, 3000 mins mobile calls and 5000 texts plus 3Gb data for €20. There's no billing you pay online: http://www.48months.ie/membership/the-don

madmoe

GinjaNinja wrote: »

dido, on same meteor plan and billling is a nightmare this year. nightmare.
1gb just aint' enough now with spotify

1GB on Vodafone not enough either!!

kn

Is it just me or is o2 just not at the races anymore when it comes to their plans? Why is anyone still with them? There was a suggestion that o2 Ireland could be on the market shortly as Telefonica is looking to ditch its worst performing operations to reduce their debt mountain. 3 were mentioned as a potential buyer.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Wombatman

Did 3 and VF every do that deal where they could share their network?

Ref: http://siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/28295-vodafone-and-three-confirm

Shiny

Oracle wrote: »

Try 48 months, 3000 mins mobile calls and 5000 texts plus 3Gb data for €20. There's no billing you pay online: http://www.48months.ie/membership/the-don

That's the thing though, in my case I want billing. I couldn't be bothered going online or otherwise to top up every month.

Oracle

Shiny wrote: »

That's the thing though, in my case I want billing. I couldn't be bothered going online or otherwise to top up every month.

You don't have to top up online every month. You can pay for up to 12 months in advance. For The Don (plan above) you can pay for 6 months in advance.

kn

Oracle wrote: »

Try 48 months, 3000 mins mobile calls and 5000 texts plus 3Gb data for €20. There's no billing you pay online: http://www.48months.ie/membership/the-don

Only 50 landline minutes with that plan though and the cost of the add-on minutes are brutal. Might not suit everyone.

Oracle

kn wrote: »

Only 50 landline minutes with that plan though and the cost of the add-on minutes are brutal. Might not suit everyone.

True it won't suit everyone. It is only 50 landline minutes but how many mobile to landline minutes do most people use each month? I think the last ComReg report said 20 minutes is the national monthly average.

kn

Oracle wrote: »

True it won't suit everyone. It is only 50 landline minutes but how many mobile to landline minutes do most people use each month? I think the last ComReg report said 20 minutes is the national monthly average.

In that case why not just roll up the landline into the 3000 minutes? I suspect its still a kind of hidden cash cow for add-ons.

ieoin

my 18 month contract with vodafone is up in may, just wondering does anyone have some advice on what is the best sim only plan?
vodafone red 40/tesco mobile 35/ three 20 a month. How do people find three and their support. I would mostly be using my phone around the Laois area, and sometimes kerry, galway etc now and again.

StaticNoise

I'd recommend Three or Vodafone over Tesco (O2) any day, for price and quality of service.
Customer Care can be frustrating at times, but the Boards Reps are around Monday to Friday.

Go for Three, enjoy the savings.

ToadVine

I would strongly, strongly urge anyone thinking about this deal to read the "Talk to: Three" forum here http://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1367 This will provide a good indication of what the reality of being in a phone contract with Three is like. Read in a few pages to see what Three customers have to put up with.

I was with Three for 18 months when the iPhone4 came out first. I am also an NBS customer with Three. I have never, ever experienced a company like Three ... they are utterly awful to deal with, and I would never go back to them even if they gave me all the calls and Internet I could ever use for free.

One specific issue with Three is the inability of an iPhone (and other smartphones) to switch from Voda's "edge" network back to Three's 3G network. This is widely publicised .. see the "talk to" forum. So you are stuck on Voda Edge till you manually toggle on/off airplane mode. Threes's network is unable to automatically switch you back to 3G.

Anyone thinking of taking this deal ... beware, and do your homework by reading the forum I've linked above. Three are cheap for a reason.

ToadVine

Also, Three DO NOT allow tethering for non business customers.

ToadVine

StaticNoise wrote: »

I'd recommend Three or Vodafone over Tesco (O2) any day, for price and quality of service.

The "Talk to: Three" forums are full of people who would disagree with you.

I'm with Tesco Mobile now, and they are better than Three in every way (especially as Tesco allow tethering whereas Three do not).

StaticNoise

1. You can set your phone to WCDMA only, with forces the device to ONLY connect to the high-speed Three network.
Edge won't even be used. Also, I disagree with you: if I ever do move onto Edge, my phone automatically reconnects back to Three when the signal is better (eg. I leave the building I am in, etc.)

2. As stated, their customer care is relatively lacking, but you can easily get things done if you have patience, don't mind going along with a script (Name, details, security code) with the call centre. If not, visit the Talk to Three forum. I've had two issues (of low importance) resolved today, in less than two hours. Also, they are Twitter and the like.

3. They allow tethering for contract customers. They are 'against' it on prepay, but it is easily doable.



Yes, they are not the world's greatest network in terms of customer care, by a long shot, but for the price you are getting far more bang for your buck, compared to the other networks. You could be with O2, who are stuck in the past and not well priced; Meteor or eMobile (who are trying their very best to keep customers); Vodafone (who are competitive, to a point, but have a rock-solid network), or one of the MVNOs, who are just piggybacking. If another network suits you: great, have fun, but there are more options. It is all about preference.

Oracle

kn wrote: »

In that case why not just roll up the landline into the 3000 minutes? I suspect its still a kind of hidden cash cow for add-ons.

I don't think so. I'd say the 18-22 age group would make far less mobile to landline calls than the national average. Its probably because, not having a fixed line network themselves, O2 have to pay extra for the landline calls. Whereas at least half of the mobile calls and texts made on 48 Months will be to the O2 network costing 48 Months (an O2 company) nothing.

whiterebel

StaticNoise wrote: »

1. You can set your phone to WCDMA only, with forces the device to ONLY connect to the high-speed Three network.
Edge won't even be used. Also, I disagree with you: if I ever do move onto Edge, my phone automatically reconnects back to Three when the signal is better (eg. I leave the building I am in, etc.)

2. As stated, their customer care is relatively lacking, but you can easily get things done if you have patience, don't mind going along with a script (Name, details, security code) with the call centre. If not, visit the Talk to Three forum. I've had two issues (of low importance) resolved today, in less than two hours. Also, they are Twitter and the like.

3. They allow tethering for contract customers. They are 'against' it on prepay, but it is easily doable.



Yes, they are not the world's greatest network in terms of customer care, by a long shot, but for the price you are getting far more bang for your buck, compared to the other networks. You could be with O2, who are stuck in the past and not well priced; Meteor or eMobile (who are trying their very best to keep customers); Vodafone (who are competitive, to a point, but have a rock-solid network), or one of the MVNOs, who are just piggybacking. If another network suits you: great, have fun, but there are more options. It is all about preference.

They do not allow it since 1st January 2012. They don't allow it at all on 3Pay. 3Uk seem to have found out how to stop it, so I would guess 3IRL won't be far behind.

kn

ieoin wrote: »

my 18 month contract with vodafone is up in may, just wondering does anyone have some advice on what is the best sim only plan?
vodafone red 40/tesco mobile 35/ three 20 a month. How do people find three and their support. I would mostly be using my phone around the Laois area, and sometimes kerry, galway etc now and again.

I would not rule out Lycamobile if I were you. €29/month plus international calls are much cheaper than all the others. Its prepay, no contract, which if you do not mind topping up monthly (top up €30 online gives up €60 credit so your monthly €29 bundle is covered plus €31 available for international calls/roaming etc) gives you the option to move if something better comes along in the meantime.

ToadVine

StaticNoise wrote: »

1. You can set your phone to WCDMA only, with forces the device to ONLY connect to the high-speed Three network.
Edge won't even be used. Also, I disagree with you: if I ever do move onto Edge, my phone automatically reconnects back to Three when the signal is better (eg. I leave the building I am in, etc.)

3. They allow tethering for contract customers. They are 'against' it on prepay, but it is easily doable

The WCDMA fix you suggest will mean you won't have the ability tp switch to 2G when you move outside 3's coverage area. Not a good solution as 3 rely on Voda 2G coverage in a lot of areas.

The full story us as follows. The problem is that 3 Ireland only have a 3g licence. In order to impove their signal in places where 3g is poor, they have a roaming agreement with Vodafone. This agreement only applies to Vodafone's 2g network.

Due to the higher freequency that 3g is on, it doesnt penetrate well inside big buildings.

When 3's 3g signal goes, the phones try to register on a different network. It will succeed in registering on Vodafone due to the agreement, but it will only have 2g coverage. Since the phone will always have Vodafone coverage, it wont try to switch back to 3's 3g.

And 3 specifically disallow tethering ... it's forbidden in the T&C's. you might get away with it for now, but who knows when it'll be banned or you'll be landed with a large data out of bundle bill?

This deal is cheap for a reason guys. Avoid like the plague.

Kristopherus

ToadVine wrote: »

The WCDMA fix you suggest will mean you won't have the ability tp switch to 2G when you move outside 3's coverage area. Not a good solution as 3 rely on Voda 2G coverage in a lot of areas.

The full story us as follows. The problem is that 3 Ireland only have a 3g licence. In order to impove their signal in places where 3g is poor, they have a roaming agreement with Vodafone. This agreement only applies to Vodafone's 2g network.

Due to the higher freequency that 3g is on, it doesnt penetrate well inside big buildings.

When 3's 3g signal goes, the phones try to register on a different network. It will succeed in registering on Vodafone due to the agreement, but it will only have 2g coverage. Since the phone will always have Vodafone coverage, it wont try to switch back to 3's 3g.

And 3 specifically disallow tethering ... it's forbidden in the T&C's. you might get away with it for now, but who knows when it'll be banned or you'll be landed with a large data out of bundle bill?

This deal is cheap for a reason guys. Avoid like the plague.

Are you from Moaners Utd by any chance?:D:D:D. I totally disagree with your insinuation that Three should be avoided. They have their reception problems just like all the networks have. Most Android phones will happily jump from Three to Voda and back again without any problems.My phone actually jumps to Voda 3g quite happily and back again when it picks up the Three signal.

ToadVine

Kristopherus wrote: »

Are you from Moaners Utd by any chance?:D:D:D. I totally disagree with your insinuation that Three should be avoided. They have their reception problems just like all the networks have. Most Android phones will happily jump from Three to Voda and back again without any problems.My phone actually jumps to Voda 3g quite happily and back again when it picks up the Three signal.

How do you know that "most Android phones will happily jump from Three to Voda and back again"?

Or maybe you just are a member of "talking thro your hole Utd"?

As I said before, both myself and many, many other people have had big problems with Three.

My advice for anyone thinking of getting this deal is to just read through the "Talk to Three" forums here on boards and make a decision then.

Adrian4

Does this deal include calls to landlines?

tyreman1

**** BEWARE*****

I was stuck in a 2 year contract with 3 which turned into a period of bully tactics and entrapment.
1.There retail shops are SALES points, the staff tend to be part time staff ( so no ongoing customer relationship, needless to say is essential when running a business)
2. The sales staff in your local store are not trained in customer service so can only offer an upgrade or sell you a new package.
3. Customer service is in Mumbai , I found the staff to be ignorant, aggressive and reading from an out of date customer service manual from 1986.
4. If there is a situation you go over your limit your account will be debited for that exact amount ( most likely between €100-€120 over) this happened to me too often so cancelled standing order.
5. When the collections team call to get your CC number for bill payment, if by chance you are say ... On the roof of an apartment block repairing the roof and tell them your wallet is in the van and will call back in an hour , this is the question that follows ( not a once off) ... "Can you ask a colleague for his credit card to pay ?"
6. Your probably still baffled by the ignorance of the question outlined in point 5.
7. After a case going through Comreg( regulatory body) and getting my account sorted out , they go and repeat the same bull**** the following month.

I'm going to stop there as I could keep going on for hours telling people the reasons not to do "business" with the 3 network. It's hard enough to earn a few bob these days, be wise with what you do with it !!

Tar.Aldarion

Now this is a deal http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/virgin-mobile-retention-deal-sim-only-30-day-contract-2500-minutes-unlimited-everything-1522765

drunkmonkey

tyreman1 wrote: »

4. If there is a situation you go over your limit your account will be debited for that exact amount ( most likely between €100-€120 over) this happened to me too often

What were you expecting for going over your allowance, Gold Watch, Bitcoins, Tickets to Robbie Williams?