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Going to London for 4 months: Which tariff would you suggest for data usage?

N

Numl0ck

macrumors member
Original poster
May 2, 2009
44
0
Hello,

I've got an internship in London for 4 months and would like to use my unlocked iPhone 3G there. I examined the different (O2, Vodafone...) offers but every "SIM Only" or "Pay as you Go" doesn't include any data usage (or it costs "up to 98p/day which would be too expensive...).

Could you recommend me anything with
* Unlimited data usage, or at least 500MB/month
* No > 4 month contract
* 30-100 Min included
* 10-100 Text messages

Thank you very much!
 
Vodafone has a plan SIM-only for 10 pounds a month, plus 7.50 a month for unlimited data. So that comes to about 35ish USD a month. Sound acceptable for you?
 
OriginalFormula said:
Vodafone has a plan SIM-only for 10 pounds a month, plus 7.50 a month for unlimited data. So that comes to about 35ish USD a month. Sound acceptable for you?
Click to expand...

It totally does! I believe that's the best option for my short stay there. Thank you! Are there similar offers from the competition?
 
Numl0ck said:
It totally does! I believe that's the best option for my short stay there. Thank you! Are there similar offers from the competition?
Click to expand...

The most important thing is that you choose a network with good coverage.
The best two are Vodafone, followed by O2. I'd go for Vodafone if you're working in cities, or central location. If you're further out in the country, O2 often seems better.
 
Numl0ck said:
It totally does! I believe that's the best option for my short stay there. Thank you! Are there similar offers from the competition?
Click to expand...
Yep, The £20 deals from o2 and T-mobile are the best deals for internet, but the packages might be a bit overkill for you.

http://shop.o2.co.uk/sim-only-simplicity

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-phones/sim-card/pay-monthly/

Similar to Vodafone, on o2 you could choose the £9.80 sim only deal + data for £7.34. I think in general o2 and vodafone are a similar level of service (both pretty good). Other than a brief dalliance with the appalling 3 mobile I've always used o2 and this year I've only got the no service message once (cue me staring at the screen and repeatedly pressing the call button in confusion)
 
as previous posters have said go for a sim only deal with a web add-on, o2 and voda have a good service, but o2 are the UK's partner with the iPhone and will probably be able to help you more with any problems should they arise.
 
I woukd recommend getting a reasonable amount of texts, here in the UK email is widely used but a lot of us are textaolics..I would try (as another used suggested) getting a pay and go sim w/ the 10 pound bolt on...
 
On arrival in the UK I would contact O2 (08442 020202) - the iPhone is exclusive to O2 - and ask them. In the past I have found them to be very helpful. As has been said, they have i month SIM only contracts with unlimited web access which should be ideal for you.
 
Hi, there is an 02 sim available (i got mine on ebay uk.however you can buy from amazon also) it is a free for 12 months data internet and wifi....with just one top up of £10.00. once you top up the initial tenner this activates the sim and BINGO you dont need to top up again (if you dont want) but you will have from the day of activation 12 months of free internet and wifi.
The sim cost on ebay (if i remember correctly) is around £3 then add your £10activation..:D Unfortunately 02 stores will only supply this sim to customers who are actually purchasing the iphone, and the sim is designed soley for iphone use,so you will have to order from somewere other than 02. like i say ebay or amazon are best bets so just pop in your iphone...good to go

Sorry dont know how you would go about transferring your own number to the sim, but its pretty simple process here in the uk
 
You're all really helpful, thank you very much for your advices!
I think I'm gonna stick to 02 and either take either the 10GBP SimOnly + Ulimited Internet option or the Pay2Go iPhone option suggested by con 500.

Thanks again!
Numl0ck
 
O2 have good voice coverage, but their 3G data coverage is frankly appalling. I recently switched from T-Mobile which was much more reliable. On O2, I'm spending half of my life using EDGE rather than 3G.

Unfortunately, as you've discovered, nobody else offers a prepay deal that can touch O2's for the iPhone.

When you get here, go to an O2 shop and get a Pay & Go SIM. Then call 2425 to add the iPhone-specific Unlimted Web & Wi-Fi Bolt-On. It's £10/month.
 
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