TalkTalk has joined the SIM-only party, announcing five 30-day and 12-month SIM-only plans exclusively for broadband and TV customers.
TalkTalk claims all unnecessary costs have been ‘stripped away’ to offer plans starting at a competitive £5 a month with 75 minutes and 150 texts on a rolling 30-day contract. For heavier data use TalkTalk offers a £15 a month 12-month contract with 1000 minutes, 3000 texts and 2GB data, rising to £17.50 for a 30-day rolling contract.
All tariffs include unlimited calls to TalkTalk landlines and TalkTalk mobile and sign up online and TalkTalk will double the data allowance.
These tariffs look extremely competitive – offering more minutes than giffgaff’s £15 or £20 goodybag, although giffgaff offers unlimited data. Virgin Media’s £17 SIMply SIM-only deal is the same price at £17 and offers unlimited data, texts and 1200 minutes. However, if you’re a TalkTalk customer it’s worth considering and you can benefit from unlimited family calls.
Tristia Clarke, from TalkTalk, said: “We expect these plans to appeal to a wide range of our customers, from savvy shoppers who want to buy their handsets outright and pay a lower monthly bill, to parents who would like their children to be able to call home at any time, without running up unexpected bills.
Check out full details of the tariff below.
Over the last couple of years consumers have gravitated towards SIM-only plans in place of phone-laden contracts. Mobile network Three states that SIM-only plans have risen by 34% in a 24-month period and users are also demanding for more from their SIM-only plans. Three has introduced some new tariffs offering more for less. The Essential Internet SIM 200 plan undercuts all of the other offers we’ve seen at £6.90 a month. What’s more the carrier is one of the few to continue to offer unlimited data plans.
What is SIM-only?
If you’re not familiar with mobile contracts, they fall into two distinct categories, standard and SIM-only. The former refers offers you a shiny new phone, complete with a SIM card in the box from your carrier to get you up and running. SIM-only offers you the SIM card but no phone to put it in. So why choose SIM-only over a standard contract?
SIM-only plans are designed for users who either already have a phone with which to put a SIM card in or they plan on buying an unlocked (will work on any network) handset. What’s more, SIM-only prices are typically cheaper as there is no handset cost included in the price.
We’ve taken a look at some of the best SIM-only plans available right now from data inclusive plans as low as £6.90-12 at the lower end and around £25-26, for 30-days and 12 months. If you’re a BlackBerry or iPhone customer speak to your network operator, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and Tesco Mobile have specially designed tariffs.
EE
500MB (£21 a month) – Customers are linked to a 12-month plan which offers unlimited calls and texts, VoIP, tethering, EE Film, music streaming, WiFi hotspot access, discounts on EE fibre broadband, 4G connectivity and 500MB of mobile data. An additional £5 a month allows users to take their plan abroad.
1GB (£26 a month) – Customers are linked to a 12-month plan which offers all the benefits of the 500MB plan, albeit with 1GB of mobile data instead. An additional £5 a month allows users to take their plan abroad.
3GB (£31 a month) – Customers are linked to a 12-month plan which offers all the benefits of the 500MB plan, albeit with 3GB of mobile data instead. An additional £5 a month allows users to take their plan abroad.
5GB (£36 a month) – Customers are linked to a 12-month plan which offers all the benefits of the 500MB plan, albeit with 5GB of mobile data instead. An additional £5 a month allows users to take their plan abroad.
giffgaff
£10 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data and unlimited giffgaff to giffgaff calls and texts.
£25 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 1500 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data, unlimited giffgaff to giffgaff calls and texts.
O2
£13.50 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 100 minutes, unlimited texts, 100MB of data and 100 minutes of O2 to O2 calls.
£13.50 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 100MB of data and 500 minutes of O2 to O2 calls.
£21.50 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB of data and 500 minutes of O2 to O2 calls.
£26 (12 month) A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB of data and 500 minutes of O2 to O2 calls.
Orange
Dolphin £10.50 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 50 minutes, unlimited texts, 100MB of data.
Dolphin £10.50 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data.
Panther £15.50 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 100 minutes, unlimited texts, 250MB of data.
Panther £10.50 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data.
Panther £26 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 600 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB of data.
Panther £26 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB of data.
Orange has a huge array of SIM-only plans, so if you want to choose this network we advise checking the website carefully.
TalkTalk
Sign up online to get double the data and free family calls.
Small £5 a month: A 30-day rolling contract, which offers users 75 minutes, 150 texts, but no data
Medium £7.50 a month: A 12-month contract, which offers users 300 minutes, 3000 texts, 500MB data
Medium £10 a month: A 12-month contract, which offers users 300 minutes, 3000 texts and 500MB data
Large £15 a month: A 12-month contract, which offers users 1000 minutes, 3000 texts and 2GB data
Large £17.50 a month: A 30-day rolling contract, which offers users 1000 minutes, 3000 texts, 3GB data
Tesco Mobile
£10 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 250 minutes and 5000 texts, but no data.
£10 (12 month) – A 12-month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 500 minutes, 5000 texts and 500MB of data.
£12.50 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 500 minutes and 5000 texts and 500MB of data.
£12.50 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 750 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB of data.
£20 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 3000 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB of data.
Three
Essential Internet SIM 200 £6.90 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 200 minutes, 5000 texts and 500MB of data.
Essential Internet SIM 200 £9.90 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 200 minutes and 5000 texts and 500MB of data.
Ultimate Internet SIM 600 £15.90 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 600 minutes, 5000 texts and unlimited data.
The One Plan SIM (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 2000 minutes, 5000 texts and unlimited data.
T-Mobile
£10.50 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 100 minutes, 5000 texts and 250 minutes of T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls.
£13 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 300 minutes, 5000 texts, 750MB of data and 500 minutes of T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls. (includes £5 discount)
£18 (12 month) – A 12 month SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 600 minutes, 5000 texts, 750MB of data and 500 minutes of T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls.
£26 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 2000 minutes, 5000 texts, unlimited data and T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls.
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Super SIM Only £5 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 100 any-network minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited Virgin Media landline/Virgin Mobile to Virgin Mobile calls.
BlackBerry SIM Only Deal £10 (rolling) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 100 any-network minutes, unlimited texts, Virgin Media landline/Virgin Mobile to Virgin Mobile calls and BlackBerry email and messenger as well as 500MB of data.
£12 (non-Virgin Media) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data.
£12 (Virgin Media customers) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB of data, unlimited Virgin Media to Virgin Media calls and texts. This deal requires that you are already a Virgin Media customer.
£17 (rolling everyone) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data Unlimited calls to Virgin Mobiles for Virgin Media customers
£25/£20 (everyone/Virgin Media customers) – A 30-day rolling contract which offers users 2500 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data, unlimited landline calls. Unlimited calls to Virgin Mobiles for Virgin Media customers.
Vodafone
£10.50 (12 month) – A 12 month contract which offers users 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data. 750MB BT Openzone WiFi and an additional 500 minutes of Vodafone to Vodafone calls.
£13 (rolling) – A rolling 30-day SIM-only contract that each month provides customers with 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data. 750MB BT Openzone WiFi and an additional 100 minutes of Vodafone to Vodafone calls.
Red SIM-only – £20.50 (12 month) – A 12 month contract which offers users unlimited minutes and texts, 1GB of data and 750MB BT Openzone WiFi. This plan is also available on BlackBerrys under the same terms.
Red Data SIM-only £26 (12 month) – A 12 month contract which offers users unlimited minutes and texts, 2GB of data and 750MB BT Openzone WiFi. This plan is also available on BlackBerrys under the same terms.
There are more SIM-only bundles from each of these carriers but these are just a handful of contrasting offers which appeal to a range of customers. Head to each of the carrier’s respective sites to see their full tariff lists.
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