Mobile Network Comparison

WorldSIM is a London-based MVNO that’s been running for over eight years now. They launched in June 2006 and their products include data roaming USB sticks, international SIM cards, and data SIM card and dual-SIM mobile phones.

They specialise in mobile roaming for international travellers and, to this end, have negotiated roaming agreements with hundreds of mobile networks worldwide. Today, their products are sold around the world in thousands of retailers as well as on their website. They have also been honoured with several awards over the last few years.

Their senior management team brings together telecoms experts with over a century of business experience between them. We had a chat with their CEO, Arif Reza, to ask the following questions:

Hi Arif, good to speak to you. First of all can you explain a how your rates compare with the most competitive MVNOs in the UK?

Rates of all MVNOs change frequently but WorldSIM always tries to keep rates lower than our competitors, we also offer free international roaming in over 90 countries and cheap data worldwide.

Fair enough. What award are you most proud of winning and why?

We have won a fair few but I think it would have to be Best Telecoms Provider 2013, we are waiting on the results for this year.

Well good luck! What’s your favourite country to visit and are there any countries you still want to add to your SIM?

It would have to be Africa for me, so many wonderful countries and lots to see and do. We add free roaming to more countries all the time, can’t say what is next I am afraid but we will be getting more in Asia for sure and Africa too.

What phone do you use and why?

I have several phones but when I travel I use the WorldSIM Orbizz as it works worldwide and its dual SIM so I can switch between my regular SIM and my WorldSIM travel SIM.

Who do you see as your closest competitor?

There are lots of companies that do similar to what we do, but none that do cheap pay as you go calls in the UK, cheap international calls and also offer free roaming and cheap data worldwide. Plus we are the only ones to be offering virtual numbers – you can add unlimited numbers to your SIM, from over 40 countries.

What do you think the impact of 4G and the exponential rise of smartphones is going to be on data pricing?

I imagine most big networks are likely to use this as an excuse to ramp up prices outside of Europe… we will be keeping our rates low.

Can you describe the brand in three words?

Innovative, unique, worldwide.

How do you aim to stay competitive in a over-saturated MVNO market?

We don’t compete, we do things differently!

Okay! So which network do you use to provide your infrastructure in the UK and why did you choose them?

O₂ as they are the biggest, most reliable network with the most coverage.

Not sure they are the biggest nor whether they have the most coverage, but what are the network’s goals for next year?

We will be offering many new travel gadgets and products that are aimed at making travellers lives easier. We will be increasing the amount of countries you can get a virtual number from. We will launch a new type of SIM (very exciting!) We will also launch a new website.

Why do you think so many people are stock on expensive PAYG plans when there are so many cheap alternatives available now? What do you think is the main thing holding people back from switching?

Familiarity: people are also unaware of a lot of the smaller MVNOs.

Do you feel it’s important to be competitive in the international and roaming markets?

Of course, who doesn’t have a smart phone and use Facebook! The need for low cost roaming solutions is massive as no one wants to go without data on their two week holiday!… That’s where we come in 🙂

Great! Thanks for your time!

So that was our interview. What did you make of it? If you have any comments or queries about WorldSIM, please drop us a comment below.