Mobile Network Comparison

On December 8th, Everything Everywhere (who own and run T-Mobile and Orange) confirmed plans to improve their two mobile networks, preparing for 4G technology with an investment of over £1.5 billion. Various sources say that once 4G is up and running in Britain, data speeds for mobile devices will be increased by 10 times 3G‘s capabilities. Both T-Mobile and Orange have asserted that the UK requires a 21^st century infrastructure and that they are committed to rolling out 4G as soon as possible. The Everything Everywhere CEO has said:

With mobile data increasing 250% over the past two years, we are making these efforts so we can deliver on our ambition to provide the UK’s most reliable, biggest and best mobile data network.

O₂ have also spent over £1 billion in mobile services and telecommunication towers all over Britain to prepare the country for the 4G future. They rolled out the UK’s first 3G network on the 900 Mhz frequency and, right now, are running the largest 4G trial in the country. The trials are currently only in London and cover up to 40 square kilometres of Central London, covering key areas such as Canary Wharf, Soho, Westminster, Kings Cross and the South Bank. O₂‘s spokesman said:

Our trial will run until summer 2012, and will give hundreds of consumers, businesses and venue owners a chance to test the latest 4G technology.

So far Vodafone and 3 have not announced plans for 4G, but it is likely that they are working towards it. First though, we must wait for Ofcom’s upcoming 4G auction.

Over in the US the 4G era has already begun. The American branch of T-Mobile already offers 4G services leaving Britain trailing behind and soon many companies feel they will be in loss because of this. And users of smartphones like the new iPhone 4S need constant access to ever-faster mobile internet connections. 4G will be greatly speed up the mobile internet era and will bring new opportunities for web designers and mobile commerce.

When will 4G be ready in the UK? Only time will tell. The question is, which network will get there first?

Even though the network only just turned two years old last month, Giffgaff is easily rated the highest by all our users. In its short life so far it’s brought its contract-beating goodybag deals, introduced full data roaming, amazingly £100,000s paid out to its customers in payback, started introducing BBM support for BlackBerry and even provided a way to save chickens.

To celebrate we’ve posted an amazing infographic that describes its journey from brand new virtual network to where it is today.

The long-awaited iPhone 4S went on sale in the UK in October. While many were expecting a whole-new iPhone 5, the 4S model did not disappoint. It has a new dual-core 1GHz A5 processor, a vastly improved camera and the Siri personal assistant.

If you’ve decided you can’t put it off any longer, the iPhone 4S is a great handset to buy. Unfortunately, making the decision to get one is the easy part – picking the best tariff is much harder. Things are complicated by the sheer number of different combinations of texts, minutes and data spread across the main mobile networks.

To make matters worse you don’t even need to buy the iPhone 4S on a contract deal – you can also buy SIM-free network unlocked handsets which you can then use on PAYG tariffs. At present there are over 400 different tariff combinations for new iPhone users to consider. With this in mind, how can you possibly decide which is the cheapest iPhone 4S deal for you?

Total cost of ownership

The best way to compare prices across networks and between contracts and PAYG is by calculating the Total cost of ownership. This is simply the overall amount you’ll have to pay for your new iPhone 4S and can be found by adding the initial cost of the handset to the monthly price of the plan multiplied by the length of the contract (in months). Or, if you speak maths:

Total cost of ownership = cost_handset + cost_{monthly tariff} × t_{contract length}

As the SIM-free option involves a large upfront payment followed by a far cheaper PAYG tariff while contracts usually have subsidised (or even free) handsets with pricier charges over the following months, this is the best way to compare the available options.

For example, imagine you want to buy a 16GB iPhone 4S with a plan that includes at least 250 minutes. You’re looking at T-Mobile, 3 and Giffgaff as your main options. The cheapest deals available from each are as follows:

T-Mobile – £170 upfront then £30.64/month for 300 minutes, 300 texts and 500MB data.
Three – £129 upfront then £30/month for 300 minutes, 5000 texts and 500MB data.
giffgaff – £499 upfront then £10/month for 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

If we compare these from a total cost of ownership point of view, it’s immediately obvious which choice is best.

The T-Mobile plan costs £170 for the phone but then £30.64/month for a 24 month contract adds up to another £735. The total you have to pay over two years is about £905.

The tariff on 3 is a bit better as it’s cheaper to start with and you only pay £720 over the 24 month contract making a total of £849.

However, Giffgaff is easily the cheapest in this example because, although you have to pay £499 to buy the iPhone 4S 16GB, the £10 goodybag only costs you a paltry £240 over two years. Even though you have to shell out more to start with, you save over £100 compared to the 3 deal. The total is just £739 and you’re not locked into any long contract and you even get more texts and data.

iPhone 4S 16GB price comparison

In this comparison we’ve looked at all the deals available for the iPhone 4S 16GB version from the major UK networks (O₂, 3, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone) as well as the cheapest PAYG alternative from Giffgaff using their incredible value goodybags. We’ve also broken it down into separate sections for inclusive minutes, texts and data so you can see which deal is best for you. Don’t forget to also keep in mind the coverage in your area for the network you want to go with – our network coverage maps will let you know how good the signal strength is.

Best iPhone 4S 16GB deal by minutes

At least 200 minutes

If you only need as little as 200 minutes a month, Giffgaff is the obvious winner being much much cheaper than the alternatives with a total cost of ownership of just £739 over two years.

You just need to order your £499 iPhone 4S 16GB then request a Giffgaff micro-SIM with £5 free credit. Next, log in to your account and buy the £10/month goodybag. This gives you 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data every month.

At least 300 minutes

If however you need 300 minutes a month, 3‘s offering is slightly better than Giffgaff’s with a saving of £10. The total is only £849 for a 24 month contract.

The offer is for a 16GB iPhone 4S with 300 minutes, 5000 texts and 500MB data for an initial cost of only £129 then £30/month. ⇒ Get this deal now ⇐.

At least 400 minutes

For 400 minutes a month, Giffgaff charges back into the lead with a price of only £859 in total.

Again, you have to buy your £499 iPhone 4S 16GB then order a Giffgaff micro-SIM with £5 free credit. Next, simply get the £15/month goodybag for 400 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data every month.

At least 500 minutes

3 has the best offer for a 500 minute contract with a total cost of ownership of £889.

For your money not only do you get the iPhone 4S 16GB but you also get 500 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB data. The one-off cost is a tiny £49 and the monthly fee is £35/month. ⇒ Get this deal now ⇐.

At least 600 minutes

Finally, if you’re more talkative and you want to have 600 minutes every month, O₂ is the best choice for you with a total cost over 24 months of £916.

The phone is only £100 then you have to pay £34/month for 600 minutes, 100MB data and unlimited texts. ⇒ Get this deal now ⇐.

Best iPhone 4S 16GB deal by texts

100-5000 texts

No matter whether you need only 100 texts, a massive 5000 texts or any number in between, the graph clearly shows that Giffgaff is your best bet each time with a total cost of ownership of just £739 over two years.

First just buy your 16GB iPhone 4S for an initial cost of £499 then order a free Giffgaff micro-SIM with £5 free credit. You can then get the £10/month goodybag that will give you 250 any-network minutes every month as well as unlimited texts and unlimited data.

An alternative for 100-500 texts

For 500 texts a month or less, O₂ also offer some very competitive deals. For example, if you want a 500 text allowance you can get an iPhone 4S 16GB for a total cost of ownership of just £744.

O₂ will give you your iPhone with 100 minutes, 500 texts and 100MB data for a one-off cost of £300 followed by a low-priced £18.50 monthly tariff. ⇒ Get this deal now ⇐.

Best iPhone 4S 16GB deal by data

100MB-unlimited data

Again, no matter how much mobile internet you use, Giffgaff are clearly the cheapest deal for an iPhone 4S 16GB at only £739 for 24 months which works out to total cost of only about £30/month including buying the phone.

Simply order your £499 iPhone 4S 16GB then request a Giffgaff micro-SIM with £5 free credit. Once it’s activated you just need to buy the £10/month goodybag that will give you unlimited data every month. You also get 250 minutes every month and unlimited texts.

An alternative for 100MB data

If you only need as little as 100MB data, O₂ also have a decent offer with an iPhone 4S for a total cost of only £744.

You get the phone as well as 100 minutes, 500 texts and 100MB data for a one-off cost of £300 followed by £18.50/month. ⇒ Get this deal now ⇐.

Summary

Giffgaff have shown that they are very often the cheapest option for buying the newest iPhone with some massive savings compared to other networks when you look at total cost of ownership.

3’s iPhone 4S deals are incredibly good value all-round especially as they have easily the best 3G network in the country and their allowances are pretty darn generous. Check out their UK coverage maps to see for yourself.

Perhaps the surprise of the pack is O₂‘s cheap iPhone 4S packages. Because they allow you to pay a very low monthly charge for only 100MB of data, it’s possible to get lots of minutes or lots of texts for very cheap. In many instances, they arguably gave Giffgaff’s offers a run for their money. Perhaps this more aggressive pricing is a new tactic for the troubled network? Do make sure you check their coverage in your area before buying though.

So there you have it. A whole bunch of fantastic iPhone 4S deals no matter how much allowance you need for minutes, texts or mobile internet. Stay tuned for our next instalment where we look at deals for the iPhone 4S 32GB version.