Mobile Network Comparison

We’ve just put the finishing touches on what we think is the best mobile network comparison table for UK PAYG. It’s now live and published and we’re pretty sure that this is the most comprehensive way of comparing mobile networks available.

This is the only network comparison chart that really includes everything. We’ve got coverage information, prices for data, calls, texts, MMS, premium numbers, freephone numbers, special deals for unlimited calls, unlimited texts and unlimited data and details about the mobile networks each virtual network runs on. Every cost on every tariff for every UK network.

The comparison chart is extensively annotated and you can even click the headings to sort each column in ascending or descending order to find the cheapest mobile network for your specific needs and usage patterns. Then, before you change mobile network, you can click the network names to read our detailed reviews.

So go check out what’s probably the best mobile network comparison table available, work out how to get the cheapest deal possible and let us know what you think. We think that by giving you all the information in one place, you’ll be able to choose the best value network .

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Earlier this year, Virgin Mobile introduced a brand new PAYG tariff alongside their existing Addict Tariff. It’s called the Simply 8p Tariff and – simply – calls, texts and voicemail all cost just 8p (geddit?) We found it such a refreshing change from their reputation as the most overpriced virtual network that we thought we’d look at it in a little more detail. First, the run down:

Simply 8p Tariff

As you can see, all the charges are pretty reasonable, especially compared to the Addict Tariff on Virgin Mobile. In fact, calls are now a massive 70% cheaper and texts are 20% cheaper. You even save money on premium rate numbers. The only disadvantage is that you don’t get top-up bonuses so it’s best for people who aren’t high-volume users and rarely top-up.

To see how much you would save compared to on the Addict Tariff, imagine someone who makes 60 minutes of calls and sends 50 texts a month. On the Addict Tariff this would cost you £15.60 (you get unlimited texts with your top-up). However, if you were on the Simply 8p Tariff it would only be £8.80 which is almost a 45% saving. Do remember that other networks are still much much cheaper such as Giffgaff, ASDA Mobile, TalkMobile and others.

As for the other charges, voicemail is only 8p per minute (a saving of 70%) and you get 50 free minutes per month of calls to other Virgin Mobiles. What’s more, you can still get Blackberry passes for just £2 a week or £5 a month.

If you’re on Virgin Mobile and want to switch to the Simply 8p Tariff, simply send a text to 789050 saying “SIMPLY8p” and you’ll be moved over automatically. Bear in mind that it’s only available to current Virgin Media customers though. Please let us know if you’ve done this or plan to.

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A sad day today – Giffgaff officially announced a pretty hefty price bump to their PAYG rates for calls and SMS. The tariff increase doesn’t go live until 6th October but it still makes a significant difference to their customers who don’t use the excellent value goodybags.

• The price for texts has risen a whopping 50% as each one goes from just 4p each to 6p each.
• Calls have gone up by 25% from 8p/minute to 10p/minute. This includes call forwarding.
• All other charges such as voicemail, premium rate numbers, mobile data and goodybags have remained unchanged.

Giffgaff have blamed the price increase on Ofcom’s reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) earlier this year which affects their profit margins. This was the same excuse used when ASDA Mobile increased their prices by the same amount and Orange’s rates rocketed in June, as well as Vodafone’s mass fee hike back in July. They also claimed it was needed to make the business more profitable.

Frankly, these reasons are a bit of a red herring and it’s a clear move to persuade more customers to move to the guaranteed income of goodybags. The product most affected by the MTR increase is the Hokey Cokey goodybag which remains unchanged. Texts are completely unaffected even though their price went up by the biggest percentage. It’s worth remembered that texts are also massively profitable for mobile companies even at just 4p each.

As for the profitability – Giffgaff is still an incredibly new company and it’s rare to recoup investments so early. They have also admitted that they are ahead of schedule for all their income targets. So that’s why it’s a sad day – it reeks a little of money grabbing and bait-and-switch now they’ve attracted a large userbase. It remains to be seen whether all the people leaving for cheaper networks will cause them to lose more income than the price increases gain.

Despite all this, we still have to commend Giffgaff highly. They, unlike any of the other networks, conducted a two week customer consultation to discuss the price increase. They didn’t spring it on their users unlike their rival networks and they listened to their users’ feedback. And even though Giffgaff might not have rock-bottom rates any more, we still argue that it’s probably the best value PAYG network. Some of the reasons are that, even though prices have gone up, you still get unlimited calls and unlimited texts absolutely free to friends and family on Giffgaff all day every day. This is an unbeatable offer and potentially saves huge amounts of money. Then there’s free credit with the payback scheme and the £5 joining bonus. What’s more their goodybags are some of the very best deals around and they have pledged not to increase their prices. Of course, for all the goodybags costing more than £10 you get truly unlimited data which is a fantastic deal.

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