Best SIM only, Spusu?

[Skyedriver]

Never heard of them but use EE network apparently.
My EE monthly SIM only contract ends in August and as ever renewal will be more.
Looking at a well known comparison site, there's umpteen options, al much cheaper.
Any recommendations from the PH crew please?
And if I jump ship with EE how do I go about it?
Thanks

[davek_964]

Why will 'renewal be more'?

I've been with EE for years. When your contract gets to the end, it means you are free to move / upgrade - but you can choose not to and simply carry on with the same terms and cost that you already had.

(I'm also SIM only)

[danb79]

Three or GiffGaff for me - EE are very expensive IMO

[RammyMP]

davek_964 said:

Why will 'renewal be more'?

I've been with EE for years. When your contract gets to the end, it means you are free to move / upgrade - but you can choose not to and simply carry on with the same terms and cost that you already had.

(I'm also SIM only)

These days they up your contract price every year by £1 - £1.50 at least. You often need to change companies to save money.

[davek_964]

RammyMP said:

davek_964 said:

Why will 'renewal be more'?

I've been with EE for years. When your contract gets to the end, it means you are free to move / upgrade - but you can choose not to and simply carry on with the same terms and cost that you already had.

(I'm also SIM only)

These days they up your contract price every year by £1 - £1.50 at least. You often need to change companies to save money.

Yes, they all do that. The point though, is that you don't need to 'renew' just because a contract comes to the end. If you've been happy with the monthly cost - and annual 'inflation' - then you simply continue

[Jamescrs]

I tried Spusu and lasted less than a week with them before I jumped again, I was sold on the idea it was EE on the cheap but the coverage was no where near as good as EE, I was dropping signal where EE had good coverage, especially bad inside buildings.
I ended up moving to Talk Mobile which runs on Vodafone and for me it has been much better than both O2 and Spusu.

I have heard whether it's true or not that the smaller networks that piggy back on the main players such as EE, O2, Vodafone get a poorer signal and coverage but not sure how true it is.

[RammyMP]

davek_964 said:

RammyMP said:

davek_964 said:

Why will 'renewal be more'?

I've been with EE for years. When your contract gets to the end, it means you are free to move / upgrade - but you can choose not to and simply carry on with the same terms and cost that you already had.

(I'm also SIM only)

These days they up your contract price every year by £1 - £1.50 at least. You often need to change companies to save money.

Yes, they all do that. The point though, is that you don't need to 'renew' just because a contract comes to the end. If you've been happy with the monthly cost - and annual 'inflation' - then you simply continue

If it’s an inflation rise then happy days, O2 charge £1.50 for all tariffs whatever the price. I’ve got 3 sim only contracts with them for me and the kids, 2 years ago I was playing less than £30, it’s over £40 now. I’ll be swapping to someone else soon!

[davek_964]

RammyMP said:

davek_964 said:

RammyMP said:

davek_964 said:

Why will 'renewal be more'?

I've been with EE for years. When your contract gets to the end, it means you are free to move / upgrade - but you can choose not to and simply carry on with the same terms and cost that you already had.

(I'm also SIM only)

These days they up your contract price every year by £1 - £1.50 at least. You often need to change companies to save money.

Yes, they all do that. The point though, is that you don't need to 'renew' just because a contract comes to the end. If you've been happy with the monthly cost - and annual 'inflation' - then you simply continue

If it s an inflation rise then happy days, O2 charge £1.50 for all tariffs whatever the price. I ve got 3 sim only contracts with them for me and the kids, 2 years ago I was playing less than £30, it s over £40 now. I ll be swapping to someone else soon!

There is a reason I put inflation in quotes.

[Mr-B]

I think the piggyback services get restricted speeds mostly so you won't get the full 5G experience.

As for avoiding being shafted by EE (or any supplier) at the end of a contract request a PAC code to move your number to another provider, their retentions department will usually contact you to negotiate a better deal to keep you as a customer. Make sure you can quote a package that you have seen available elsewhere and they will try and match it or get as close as they can. If you are still not happy then you have the PAC code to take your number to another provider and vote with your wallet. Been doing this for years and my data allowance has slowly crept up and my monthly cost down over time.

[Saleen836]

How much data do you need?

If minimal (like myself) Lebara do 5gb rolling 1 month contract...

[speedyman]

I switched yesterday from ee for the same reason as the op. When I requested the pac code from ee, the contract retentions team called me and offered £8 a month and 25gb. Data. But I've moved already for 60gb and Europe roaming for the same price. Now on 3 network. So if your happy with ee get your pac. code and negotiate a new better deal.

[ChocolateFrog]

I'm on ID Mobile, £15pm for unlimited data.

No complaints.

[jurbie]

Jamescrs said:

I have heard whether it's true or not that the smaller networks that piggy back on the main players such as EE, O2, Vodafone get a poorer signal and coverage but not sure how true it is.

Correct, why would the main network spend all that money building out and maintaining it's network just for the public to go and use a cheaper service who don't have all those costs to bare? Even if the smaller networks got an equal share, the core networks only have so much capacity and if things start getting congested and I'm paying for a service with the core network then of course I would expect all of you cheapskates to be kicked off and my connection prioritised.

[Uncle Meat]

I find the Smarty (Three) SIM only deals very good. Rolling 30 days 'contract', no price increase in the 3 years I've had it (but the data has doubled from 100GB to 200GB) and roaming included. DM me for a referral code hun :-)

Mine is £12 but 60GB for £9 just for comparison to the other deals.

[superpp]

davek_964 said:

Yes, they all do that. The point though, is that you don't need to 'renew' just because a contract comes to the end. If you've been happy with the monthly cost - and annual 'inflation' - then you simply continue

not all, my 2 year ID mobile contract doesn't have the increase and Lebara don't increase either.

[RizzoTheRat]

I've been with Talk Mobile for years. They use Vodafones network so coverage is pretty decent. £7.95/month for 40GB data, unlimited calls and texts, and 5GB/month European roaming

[MustangGT]

I pay EE £6.88 for a SIM only deal. That gives me the ability to make wi-fi calls which most piggy-back deals do not cover. This is vital for me since I live in an area where EE is the only provider with a signal and that is poor for calls anyway. At home, all calls are wi-fi based.

[Condi]

Depending on when you took out the contract it will either increase by CPI +3% (from memory!), or £1/£1.50/m in April. You can just stay on the existing terms, yes it will go up every year by a bit, but if you're on the older (CPI) based contracts then the increase isn't generally very much.

EE also do deals at various times on their existing contract range, so it could be worth talking to them or looking on their website. A few months ago they were doing their £45/m contract for £29/m.

The smaller providers are generally fine, but won't be quite as good as EE even if they use the same network, won't have 5G, won't have wifi calling, etc. I have a Lebara sim and a Giff-Gaff sim for different things, and they're cheap and perfect for what they're used for, but you can see the difference in the coverage and speed between them and EE. For my main phone EE is still the best.

Edited by Condi on Tuesday 15th July 12:09

[Mammasaid]

MustangGT said:

I pay EE £6.88 for a SIM only deal. That gives me the ability to make wi-fi calls which most piggy-back deals do not cover. This is vital for me since I live in an area where EE is the only provider with a signal and that is poor for calls anyway. At home, all calls are wi-fi based.

Most, if not all MVNOs support wifi calling now.

[captain_cynic]

davek_964 said:

Why will 'renewal be more'?

I've been with EE for years. When your contract gets to the end, it means you are free to move / upgrade - but you can choose not to and simply carry on with the same terms and cost that you already had.

(I'm also SIM only)

I'm going to guess Skyedriver is like me who came to EE from another Telco (MVNO) who sold up and EE bought it for the customers (Plusnet in my case). Now after a sufficient amount of time they're jacking up the prices.

My £7 a month plan is going up to £12. So like the OP I'm looking to dump EE.

Sadly this is legal as I'm on a monthly rolling plan. Still a total dick move.