Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which carrier will you be going with when you egt your iPad 4g (UK ONLY)

V

Vermillon

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 11, 2011
59
0
UK ( From South Africa )
Just curious as to which carrier you will be going with ?
I have ordered the ipad 4g and im considering going with three as it would seem you get more bang for your buck with them.

Edit: If a mod sees this please can you change my title, i made a mistake with get and it reads egt :S
 
I will be going with Three (10GB a month for £15), but only in May/June, as I won't need mobile internet before then. Just in case, I have ordered a free sim from O2, so if I am away for the odd day between now and May I can use their pay as you go daily plan (I think it's £2 a day).

Some advice though:

a) Three are so much cheaper than anyone else, it's ridiculous. No plan with another carrier is cheaper than what Three offers.

b) If you really don't want to go with Three, go with O2, as O2 and Three are the only carriers in the UK to support HSPA+ (faster than 3G). Vodafone, T-Mobile etc... don't support that speed.

UPDATE: And according to the guy in the Three Store I spoke to yesterday, Three are going to be one of the first to have 4G. Whether it will work with this iPad, nobody knows.
 
htg said:
I will be going with Three (10GB a month for £15), but only in May/June, as I won't need mobile internet before then. Just in case, I have ordered a free sim from O2, so if I am away for the odd day between now and May I can use their pay as you go daily plan (I think it's £2 a day).

Some advice though:

a) Three are so much cheaper than anyone else, it's ridiculous. No plan with another carrier is cheaper than what Three offers.

b) If you really don't want to go with Three, go with O2, as O2 and Three are the only carriers in the UK to support HSPA+ (faster than 3G). Vodafone, T-Mobile etc... don't support that speed.

UPDATE: And according to the guy in the Three Store I spoke to yesterday, Three are going to be one of the first to have 4G. Whether it will work with this iPad, nobody knows.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info :) any idea when three will finally be getting 4g ? :p
 
htg said:
b) If you really don't want to go with Three, go with O2, as O2 and Three are the only carriers in the UK to support HSPA+ (faster than 3G). Vodafone, T-Mobile etc... don't support that speed.

UPDATE: And according to the guy in the Three Store I spoke to yesterday, Three are going to be one of the first to have 4G. Whether it will work with this iPad, nobody knows.
Click to expand...

T-Mobile also have HSPA+ as well. T-Mobile and 3 share a lot of network infrastructure, but have their own back haul, overall 3 and T-Mobile are broadly comparable.
I think the guy in the 3 store was telling you stories. No one has a "4G" licence at the minute and the auction process has not even begs, so no one knows anything about 4G in the UK yet. There have been limited trials, these have been run by BT and everythingeverywhere (Orange & T-Mobile), but not by 3. In any case I don't think the current LTE iPads are compatible with UK and Europe as we will be using different radio frequency bands, unfortunately.
 
Vermillon said:
Thanks for the info :) any idea when three will finally be getting 4g ? :p
Click to expand...
4G is in the hands ofcom the uk regulator. Recent reports indicate 2014-2015 as a rough date

In reality there will be another 2-3 iPad out and onsale before we get 4G I'm afraid.
 
I already have a contract with 3 which I took out when I got my iPad 2, so I will be putting that sim card into my new iPad.
They are easily the best for 3G coverage in the UK.
 
I go to the UK three or four times as year, coming from the US.

I'm planning on using 3, as they seem to have the best deals on pay-as-you-go 3G service.

Personally, I'm impressed on what a good value these plans are, compared to the best deals available in the US. PAYGO seems almost unavailable here, the best deal I could find was $20 for a measly 1GB, whereas 3 in the UK gives you the same for £10.49, about 50% less.

I'm still trying to figure out a way to get my prepaid SIM card shipped to me in the US before I leave later this month, so I can walk out of Terminal 5 with my iPad basking in that 3G goodness.
 
I've been using O2 ever since I got my iPad 2 at launch last year mainly because they also include free Wi-Fi at all BT Open Zone and The Cloud hot spots. I'm probably going to switch to a different network now with the new iPad probably Three. I am switching my home broadband to BT Infinity Fibre Optic on Tuesday which includes free access to BT Open Zone and BT Fon hot spots so will have no need for O2's free Wi-Fi access anymore. I may also switch my iPhone 4S plan as well.
 
I'll be tethering, using a GiffGaff sim, which offers Unlimited internet, texts, and 250 mins for £10 a month, which is unbeatable.

But then again I'm using an Android phone, which actually allows the use of WiFi hotspot no matter what data plan or carrier you are with.
 
I like GiffGaff.com. A good flexible pay as you go option utilising the O2 network especially if you mainly connect via Wi-Fi. No commitment to continue at the end of the period and you can just add cash on an ongoing basis if you are an infrequent user. I moved over from 3 late last year and haven't looked back.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B179 Safari/7534.48.3)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the iPad wifi + 4G will not support LTE 4G in the UK - only the newer high speed 3G standards that networks dishonestly brand as 4G.

The US networks operate 4G on the 700MHz and 2100MHz frequencies. In the UK and most of Europe they will run on 800MHz and 2600MHz, so the iPad won't be compatible with them.

Going back to what network I will use, I will move my t-mobile sim from my 1st gen iPad across. Buy the iPhone PAYG sim for £10 which comes with free data, put it in an iPhone and make a call to set it up, then put it in your iPad and then a few days later your free data will be applied. It gives you unlimited browsing and 500MB a month for video streaming. It works with mobile hotspot too. £10 for 12 months data is much better than any of the iPad-specific deals.
 
I'll be going with Giffgaff, I'm an infrequent 3g user (at the moment) and just want a small amount of data spread over a month, so 500mb spread over a month for £5 is perfect for me. I dislike how the major service providers only offer small amounts over a day
 
Three! iPad 2 is with Three as is my iPhone.

I work in the sticks, and spend a lot of time fishing, Three never fails to give me a signal in Shropshire.

Tried Vodaphone, O2, T Mobile and Orange over the last 2 years, poor in comparison with Three's signal, allowances and pricing.
 
Wow, it turns out, if I am to believe this article, that I was wrong about everything. Apparently, Vodafone will theoretically be the fastest with 28.8 Mbps, with all the others (Three, O2 and Everything Everywhere) second equal on 21.1 Mbps.

That being said, Vodafone's data plans are the most expensive (£15 a month for 2GB), and I emphasised the 'theoretically' as it really depends on where you live for what speeds you'll get. So no guarantee Vodafone is fastest in your neck of the woods.

I have to say that this does change things for me a bit: now I know this, I have just ordered a free pay as you go micro sim from Vodafone, in addition to the one from O2, so I should be able to compare speeds when I receive them. However when the time comes for me in may to get a monthly contract data plan in May/June, I'll probably still go for Three with the slightly lower speed as you really can't beat 10GB a month for £15. The best deal by a mile, even when you consider the slightly lower speed than Vodafone.
 
I wish the US was more like the UK. just pick your own carrier. theres always some bs reason in the US as to why you cant have 1 device and pick your carrier even if theres no contract.
 
CrAkD said:
I wish the US was more like the UK. just pick your own carrier. theres always some bs reason in the US as to why you cant have 1 device and pick your carrier even if theres no contract.
Click to expand...

To be honest with you, I'm the opposite. Getting 4G, even if you're forced to choose between two carriers, is much better than having the selection but being stuck on HSPA+.
 
jack1123 said:
I'll be going with Giffgaff, I'm an infrequent 3g user (at the moment) and just want a small amount of data spread over a month, so 500mb spread over a month for £5 is perfect for me. I dislike how the major service providers only offer small amounts over a day
Click to expand...

You realise that the T-Mobile offer is £10 for the year - not per month, right? It works out at 80p per month and you get more data than the giffgaff deal.

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/micro-sim/

Around me (London) t-mobile has much better coverage - 3G everywhere because it shares the network with orange. The giffgaff network uses O2, which I use for my iPhone, and the coverage is poor by comparison. There are lots of places where you don't get 3G, and even when you do it can be very slow.
 
i've just bought a sim from freedom talk from eBay. they run on the 3 network and perform the same as any sim on 3.

It's a 6 month sim that gives you 3gb a month. It cost £28.

Pretty happy with that as 3 have been the best for me with my Ipad 2.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPad (1st, 2nd, 3rd Gen) : Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B179 Safari/7534.48.3)

striker33 said:
I'll be tethering, using a GiffGaff sim, which offers Unlimited internet, texts, and 250 mins for £10 a month, which is unbeatable.

But then again I'm using an Android phone, which actually allows the use of WiFi hotspot no matter what data plan or carrier you are with.
Click to expand...

You'll get barred if you tethering on Giffgaff.
 
You can get a three micro sim with 1GB/1month from eBay for £4.50

I have used these no problem in the past, so will get a couple of these to start with.
 
borisiii said:
You realise that the T-Mobile offer is £10 for the year - not per month, right? It works out at 80p per month and you get more data than the giffgaff deal.

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/micro-sim/

Around me (London) t-mobile has much better coverage - 3G everywhere because it shares the network with orange. The giffgaff network uses O2, which I use for my iPhone, and the coverage is poor by comparison. There are lots of places where you don't get 3G, and even when you do it can be very slow.
Click to expand...

I didn't realise. So for the initial £10 top up, I automatically get 500mb per month? Very good deal and suits me perfect, thanks for the heads up!

It does say -

Please note that the 12 months free internet is for the iPhone 4 only and is not available for the iPad or any other device.

But I assume they have no way of knowing whether its being used in an iPhone or iPad?
 
jack1123 said:
I didn't realise. So for the initial £10 top up, I automatically get 500mb per month? Very good deal and suits me perfect, thanks for the heads up!

It does say -

Please note that the 12 months free internet is for the iPhone 4 only and is not available for the iPad or any other device.

But I assume they have no way of knowing whether its being used in an iPhone or iPad?
Click to expand...

Well it all depends on how you activate the free 12 months internet.
You can send a text (can't rememember what u have to put or what number)
You can request tmobile to do it through twitter or
you can call them up but these days they tend to ask you for your IMEI number so they know its going into an iPhone and not an iPad.

I've been using mine since April last year and get around 3.65mbps download speeds. Guess I can't complain. Oh and you get to keep the £10 as payg credit
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back