Mobile Network Comparison

Swedish company Doro has focussed on senior citizens as their primary market niche. They have developed a range of phones and services to meet the needs and demands of the older user. The company holds numerous international awards in recognition of its product designs and innovations and today is the global market leader in the category, telecom for seniors.

Doro’s PhoneEasy 508 handset will be sold as part of a bundle with their Anywhere SIM Lite for £30 which will include the handset, SIM card and a mandatory £60 top-up. The package offers a national roaming service which gives users access to the strongest cellular signal wherever they may be as it switches between EE, Vodafone and O₂.

The PhoneEasy 508 is designed to be easy to use, but it also has life-saving applications like built-in emergency assistance features. The assistance feature sends SMS messages to up to 5 emergency numbers with a single press of the emergency button. The phone is extremely light with a dedicated torch and comfortably sized buttons. Another potentially life-saving feature is ICE (In Case of Emergency) which allows you to store all your medical information in one place for quick retrieval in case of emergency or trauma.

This is an attractive package for senior users with the benefit of good cell phone reception anywhere in the UK. Would you use it or recommend it to older friends and relatives?

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Don’t you just hate it when you fail to get even a single “bar” of mobile phone reception? Especially when a mate – on a different network and sitting right next to you – is happily texting away whilst you are left to silently curse your operator.

A new offering on the UK market called Anywhere SIM promises to eliminate this frustrating problem. A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Anywhere claims it turns so-called “notspots” into hot spots, due to its SIM cards’ ability to use any of the major UK networks. The special SIMs are programmed to automatically connect to the network with the strongest signal, just like a foreign SIM would.

The new firm is able to operate this way due to a roaming agreement its parent company, Manx Telecom Ltd, has with the UK mobile industry’s big three operators – Vodafone, O₂ and EE. Because Manx is based on the Isle of Man, users on the UK mainland are technically roaming all the time, thus allowing them the pick of networks.

As the big three operators themselves have so far resisted pressure from the government to offer national roaming, Anywhere SIM and its clever sidestepping of the current roaming rules offers the best chance for UK mobile phone users to avoid notspots.

Pricing is straightforward, if rather expensive, with each of three available tariffs offering a flat rate for calls, text and data. Texts cost 5p, while calls and data will set you back between 5p and 10p per minute/megabyte. There’s a single, flat rate for roaming right across Europe.

The firm’s founder, Matthew Wright, told BBC News the new network appealed to people who had experienced coverage issues, such as those who live in rural locations.

“And those who travel a lot and experience notspots – for example people that spend a lot of time in caravans and those who pursue outdoor pursuits – cyclers, runners, walkers, anglers, there’s a long list that could benefit outside the big conurbations.”

What’s your thoughts on this new service? Is the flexibility worth the added cost? And how likely are you to use such a network?

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