[3GScottishUser]

I decided to have a look at the cost of making calls on some of the major netorks and MVNO's as an exercise and the results might surprise many.

Firstly I have to say its a minefield. The complexity is astonishing. The call rates quoted below are the current cheapest tariffs I could find and are 'raw' costs that account for the credit deducted only. Some networks have loyalty schemes and inclusive talk-time for regular spenders and I have highlighted that where applicable.

Here is what was calculated:

All X/Net calls

2 X 10 mins peak and 2 X 10 min evening/weekend (off-peak)

T-Mobile (£20-£40 Monthly Spend Rate) = 10p/min = £4.00

Tesco Value Mobile = 15p/min = £6.00

Virgin (Pay as You Go Bundle Minutes) = 40 min bundle = £7.50

Vodafone (Smartplus + Stop the Clock) = 35p/min (26 X 35p + 17 Free) = £9.10

3 (WePay) = 30p/Min = £12.00 (* Credit for Incoming Calls)

Orange (Same Rates 24/7) = 35p/min = £14.00 (1/2 your top up back the following month so if you remain on the network the true cost would be £10.50)

02 (Talkalot) = 40p/min = £16.00 (£10 top up includes 100 free X/Net mins + 50 bonus X/Net Mins each month)

I hope the above is helpful in working out the true costs but suspect pre-pay will present a challenge to even the most savvy shoppers with all the conditions hidden in the small print. T-Mobile look a safe bet with very clear pricing based on a customer's monthly spend. One cant ignore the incoming call credit on 3's WePay as a factor nor can one afford to dismiss the significance of the Orange 1/2 top-up refund or 02's inclusive calls when making accurate comparisons.

What the above data clearly proves is that the more loyal PAYG customers are the less it seems to cost for a typical days calls.

(One could have tried to factor in all the same network and landline charges but I have tried to make the comparison as simple as possible).

[maxspank]

I cn't believe o2 can cost cost 4 times the amount of T-mobile, it is quite shocking! Useful info cheers.

[Hands0n]

So, you had a few minutes on your hands did ya? Excellent and thought stimulating item. It would be interesting to see WePay vs Threepay (the latter has not been replaced afaics, yet at least). Competing tariffs from the same company.

Others [MVNOs] like easyMobile (15p pm flat rate) and Fresh (CPW) come out at same/similar as Tesco Value Mobile.

Other skews factor in, such as T-Mobile's Mates Rates and suchlike from the others!

All of this in the name of Transparency .......... Folk really need to study the rates carefully, apply their anticipated call pattern to it and see which network is best to go to. But most will not go to that trouble, and almost certainly wouldn't pay for the advice! A cynic would suggest that the mobile ops were betting on that being the case :D

[3GScottishUser]

New customers buying a pre-pay 3 handset must use 'WePay' and there are significant changes about to be announced re ThreePay Vouchers. The 750 minute £35 voucher has already been discontinued.

02 looks expensive but one can't ignore the 100 inclusive minutes you get for £10 and they then add another 50 minutes on top of that each month. I compared 'raw' calling costs but if you top up an 02 mobile with £10 you could cover the 40 minutes X/Net calls and have 110 left spare!!! Not as bad as it looked really but the published tariff rate is 40p/minute so I had to show that as the 'spot' calling price. 02's pre-paid deal is so good that it is one of the reasons why they have been so sucessful lately, folks seem to be able to work out the value (I got shown it at work this week). £10 buys 150 X/Net minutes on pre-pay so your 1st tenner's worth of calls actually work out at 6.6p/min.

[Ben]

What chimes with me most strongly is your comment "Firstly I have to say its a minefield. The complexity is astonishing."

There's certainly no room for congratulating any of the networks while their tariffs continue to be so unnecessarily confusing.

Surely there's a better way.