Irish Mobile ripoff workaround?

Slightly Kwackers

I still have my UK mobile, it used to cost 1P per minute and the credit lasted six months to a year before I needed to top up.

Looking at the mobile charges here, they are just a sick joke, there seems no alternative to having a monthly contract even with what is jokingly called "pay as you go".

Anyway, I will not be ripped off, if there is no alternative I will get some sim cards sent from the UK and get them used on the UK networks for a few calls before having them posted here.

In the meantime does anyone know of an internet service that receives texts on a provided mobile number? I have found sites that offer this, but they don't seem to "come with the goods" and the number of pop ups in my browser has gone to ridiculous proportions, so I suspect most are scams.

Most internet sites seem to want a mobile number for some reason, God knows why, I used to change mobile numbers like socks as every time I needed to top up I was out on the road and away from the computer my passwords were on, so it was easier to call into a phone shop or supermarket for a SIM card.

eggy81

You should have been here 10 years ago.

Creamy Goodness

username checks out.

L1011

You can get an absolutely all in contract for 10.99 a month. That is not a ripoff by the standards of anywhere. Networks are not in the habit of servicing customers that don't spend anything. Its possible they can afford to have low contract rates by not pissing money away on SIMs for people that don't make them a cent.

Sites look for a mobile number to use as 2FA/password resetting. Its not particularly secure but we're stuck with it.

Nobody is going to offer an SMS to PC/email gateway for free - you will likely end up spending rather more than 10.99 a month for one that works.

Slightly Kwackers

It's certainly a ripoff by what I paid in the UK. I split data and phone though. Both SIM cards lasted six months or a year.

3 for data, later EE, and phone was by any of the cheaper call handlers.

The irritating thing is that I have a landline and broadband and have no real use for a mobile here. I would keep one for emergency use, as the landline goes down every winter, but the signal is hopeless.

Before I had the fibre connection I actually had a dongle in the front garden on top of a pole to get a reliable signal.

I think somehow that the providers in the UK would have done their homework, although they do seem pretty cheap, I have my doubts that many are making a loss or suffering from an excess level of charitable kindness.

My UK broadband phone package was thirty pounds, my Irish broadband phone package was fifty euro before I renegotiated another contract start.

My English package worked, the Irish broadband package cuts out quite often and the phone goes down when the weather stays wet for days.

A higher price for worse service is not my idea of a bargain.

Slightly Kwackers

10 years back, I had a SIM from meteor or Carphone warehouse, even An Post. They seemed a far better option then. There was no monthly cut off and the calls were not too bad if I recall.

An Post was o/k once you had got around the problem of the assumption that the SIM was for a call/ data mix, but that is now a "contract" which I don't want.