What Mobile Phone do you have? Tariff?

I am with T-mobile and have a "mix it" plan which they no longer offer so I am not sure why I'm telling you about it!! My monthly bill is £16.99 and for that I get 750 off peak minutes & 50 texts per month. The mix it thing means anything over and above that I do pay as you go. I usually put another tenner on per month. I'm very happy with the plan and T Mobile customer service is pretty good but their coverage is not great in some areas.

The phone I have now I got 2nd hand, it's a Motorola V360. It has a camera and video thingy and loads of other stuff I don't know how to work!!!

When it comes to coverage, remember that despite the dozens of companies offering contracts, the number of actual, physical cellular networks is quite limited.   When you sign up with Tesco, Virgin, et al, they issue the SIM cards, do the billing, and so on.  The actual operational side is merely sub-contracted out to one of the other networks, so if both Acme Cellular and Fly-By-Nite Telecoms use the same physical network, coverage will be identical.

The four main GSM networks are:

Vodafone (GSM 900 & 1800)
O2 (originally known as BT Cellnet, GSM 900 & 1800)
T-Mobile UK (originally Mercury's One-2-One, GSM 1800)
Orange (GSM 1800)

There are two very new start-ups on the scene now providing just GSM1800 service as well -- Opal Telecom and TeleWare -- so expect to see more usage of these over the next few years.

All four of the main GSM companies plus the relative newcomer Hutchison 3G Ltd. provide 3G 2100 services.

To bad they don't have the mix it plan anymore Britwife, that sounds fab.

Thank you Paul, wow, I didn't know that.  I was think of going with Virgin T-Mobile or 3, but now I think I might have to go with T-mobile.

I have Virgin w/broadband, landline and TV.  For £10/month I get 300 texts and 300 cross-network, any time minutes.

I have Virgin w/broadband, landline and TV.  For £10/month I get 300 texts and 300 cross-network, any time minutes.

Wow that is a great deal.  I don't think I'll be able to get Rich to switch from Sky though

Another downside is not everyone's able to get cable.  I don't think the village I live in will ever get it.   

Stace... i liked the LG Shine as well, but the guy in the Vodafone shop told me it was shite and they get a lot of complaints and returns of those.   

Stace... i liked the LG Shine as well, but the guy in the Vodafone shop told me it was shite and they get a lot of complaints and returns of those.   

I've read rewies about it and they all agree with him

How about one of T-Mobile's Flext plans? Would this work?

I just upgraded to a Nokia 6300 and am on Orange's Dolphin 25.

How about one of T-Mobile's Flext plans? Would this work?

I just upgraded to a Nokia 6300 and am on Orange's Dolphin 25.

I like T-Mobile's Flex Plans, that is one of the choices.

Though I just looked at my plan with Vodaphone and it's actually pretty good for the price.  I might ask for the code and see if they will do me a deal and I can keep the plan with a free new phone.

Another downside is not everyone's able to get cable.  I don't think the village I live in will ever get it.   

DH's family who live five minutes away can get cable, but we can't.  Its weird.


I'm on Vodafone, but I'll probably switch to pay as you go after the contract's up.  I figure I'll save about £20 a month not being on a contract.

Another downside is not everyone's able to get cable.  I don't think the village I live in will ever get it.   

There are many places where it's likely to be many years before cable service is available, if ever.  The cost of installing the necessary distribution equipment to reach smaller towns and villages is likely to be greater than a reasonable pay-back period from the anticipated subscriptions. 

It's the same in the U.S., only more so in the sparsely populated areas.  There are also licensing issues in many places, e.g. where the cable service is licensed by the city so it stops dead at city limits, even if the next house is only a few dozen feet away.