[3GScottishUser]

Tesco Extra Mobile has been launched and offers X/net calls for 10p/min and SMS at 5p each (anytime).

There is a minimum top-up of £15 a month to get those rates. Looks good for the average user though. The above deal beats EasyMobile and Fresh by 5p/min and is 20p/min cheaper than 3's WePay.

Has anyone found any cheaper pre-pay dealls? I know T-Mobile have a low rate for high spenders but you have to spend over £40/month to gain the best rates.

If anyone can beat the Tesco Extra deal post below.

[chagle]

What about O2's online prepay @ 300 Free text message per month. As long as you top up £10 a month. I think you can also swap for free calls too? Not sure tho' ...

Glen.

[Ben]

O2's deal remains good and a firm favourite amongst the younger generation.

For pure simplicity and upfront value, though, Tesco Mobile Extra is pretty spot on.

[3GScottishUser]

I think when you add on the 'treats' extras you can get 150 mins of X/Net calls for £10 a month with 02 which makes them slightly cheaper than Tesco. Not sure the extra 50 mins you get in the treat are anytime calls though as i have read they are off-peak. Treats seem to change monthly so that may change. Still if you get 100 mins X/Net anytime for £10 anything extra is more value than Tesco i suppose and that sort oof deal must be very appealing to lower spenders, especially students and those on limited incomes..

[solo12002]

ah Ben

"O2's deal remains good and a firm favourite amongst the ""younger generation"" that explains why you are on vodafone !

Lol im going of get kicked of here one day soon,

[Ben]

"O2's deal remains good and a firm favourite amongst the ""younger generation"" that explains why you are on vodafone !
What did I ever do to you, eh? :p

Oh, and I've met the 'younger generation' - O2 is quite welcome to them!

Now, where did I leave my pipe and slippers...

[chagle]

I'm 38 and a texter.. before O2 online contract I used O2's prepay. I've never been called part of the younger generation before! :-)

[Hands0n]

I know O2's call and text charges are higher than Tesco's but with O2 you do get the 300 texts free for a £10 top up per month leaving the tenner free for use as voice or additional text once the 300 is done. That has been a good reason the kids have loved it to date, and still do.

I can't remember when I was ever the younger generation! I do remember getting emancipated once. No, hang on, that was the girlfriend of the day after which she burned her bra and ran off with a Hippy.

Tesco's SIM Extra link for the hard of hearing is http://www.tescomobile.com/extrasim.aspx

[3GScottishUser]

Thinking about the major radio promotion 3 are doing this week to promote WePay I did some arithmetic.

If you have a 'WePay' phone and top-up with £15 and get the maximum £15 credit for incoming calls and texts you would be able to spend £30 the following month. That buys 100 minutes of X/Net calls or 300 texts or a combination of both.

If you have a Tesco Extra Mobile and top-up by £15 you get 150 X/Net minutes or 300 texts or a combination of both.

Hmmmmmm... which is better value?

The latter option I suspect as not only can you make more voice calls but your contacts will pay up to 50% less to call you. The Tesco tariff is not dependent on others calling either so if your contacts dont make up the maximum calling credit availble you would benefit even more.

3 are keen to promote the inbound calling credits that divert attention from the cost of calling and that appears to be the strategy of 'WePay'.

[solo12002]

" If you have a 'WePay' phone and top-up with £15 and get the maximum £15 credit for incoming calls and texts you would be able to spend £30 the following month. That buys 100 minutes of X/Net calls or 300 texts or a combination of both


I cant see many getting the max and if you could get a contract the flext 20 from t-mobile will give you a min of 170 mins or 100mins and 140 texts

[3GScottishUser]

Here's an interesting statistic:

To gain a £10 inbound WePay Credit at 5p per minute calls to a 3 mobile from a BT landline at standard rates would be charged at £43.08 (200 minutes at 21.54p per minute).

The same 200 minutes to a Tesco Mobile would have cost £24.82

Sobering thought eh?

[Hands0n]

Not only sobering but I wonder if not a little "illegal" if not in the strictly legal sense. Should not all numbers that attract premium charges be clearly identified to prevent callers running up huge bills?

If making a call to a 3 mobile attracts a premium over that same call to another mobile operator, or perhaps out of kilter with the mainstream, are we not then in "Premium Rate" in the actual if not legal sense?

I have not seen any warnings anywhere that say to the effect of "Warning, making calls to WePay customers may attract a higher call charge than normal". Unless, of course, 3 charge the same for calls to Threepay and Contract customers, which afaik they dont!

[3GScottishUser]

All calls to 3 mobiles are priced the same. There is no difference in the cost to call WePay, its the same to call a 3 contract phone.

The charges are very high and Ofcom have now issued a consultation to include 3G services in future mobile price controls which should be effective from later this year.

It has long been the case that is 3's customer's contacts that have been paying for the huge commissions H3G UK have been providing to acquire a foothold. Most folks just dont know.

[solo12002]

Mobiles are a fact of life, charges to them like roaming are dam to high,. What we need is for OFCOM to get up of its ass and do something, Ops I forget their wages are paid for by the networks!

In this day and age, the calls to mobile phones from a mobile or a landline should be charged at national rate 10p Full Stop.