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Mobile networks
The essential guide to the UK’s mobile networks, making it easier to pick the one that’s right for you.
Virtually everyone in the UK now has a mobile phone – 89% of the population, according to official figures.
And that’s no wonder as having a mobile is the easiest way to keep in touch with friends and family and, find out information via the web while you’re out and about.
The major mobile phone networks
There are five major mobile phone network in the UK:
- Vodafone (www.vodafone.co.uk)
- T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.co.uk)
- Orange (www.orange.co.uk)
- O2 (www.O2.co.uk)
- Three (www.three.co.uk)
The networks all run a wireless or mobile network on different parts of the airwaves, according to the type of licence they have been granted by the UK government.
Other networks do exist, such as Virgin Mobile and Asda Mobile, but their telephone calls and text messages are sent using a major network’s airwaves. This process if known as “piggybacking”.
They often rely on targeting a specific type of customer. The five networks are happy to let newcomers use their networks as it boosts their income.
Who runs on which network?
- T-Mobile – Virgin Mobile
- Vodafone – Asda Mobile; BT Mobile, Carphone Warehouse’s Talk Mobile and Lebara Mobile
- O2 - Tesco mobile.
Choosing the right mobile phone network
On average, we spend more than £17 a month each using our mobile phone - that’s over £200 a year! But you may be paying a lot more, especially if you’ve signed up for the wrong deal on the wrong network for your needs.
If you live in a city, you’ll probably have your pick of the providers.
However, if you’re in the countryside, or in rural areas of Wales and Scotland, you could find your options more limited because of poor network coverage.
In these cases, it’s vital to do a postcode check on each of the providers’ websites to make sure the network will be suitable for you.
As well as finding out which operators are available in your area, each network has its own perks and marketing tools which may suit you.
Orange customers can benefit from Orange Wednesday’s which give 2-for-1 cinema tickets on a Wednesday.
T-Mobile has some of the lowest cost bundles and boosters for international roaming and calling abroad.
Orange and T-Mobile, though, are in the process of merging their businesses, so it seems likely that there will be some changes to tariffs and charges as the process gets underway.
O2 customers get priority booking for gigs and concerts at the O2 arena and other venues in the group. O2 used to be the only company offering Apple’s iPhone in the UK. But now all the major networks sell iPhone 4 contracts.
Vodafone's 360 service links your mobile phone to your computer, so all your contacts and favourite social networking websites, such as Facebook are instantly accessible whether you’re on your phone or your computer.
Three offers instant messaging for free, plus free calls via Skype – which provides phone calls via the internet. In October this year it launched Mobile Wi-fi – a device which creates your own Wi-fi hotspot, so that you can connect any 3G device such as a mobile phone or laptop to the internet. Mi-fi is available on contracts and pay-as-you-go, and is similar in price and length to mobile broadband contracts.
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