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It’s February and I’ve spent all my Christmas money on gadgets, pints and carpet-flavoured
crisps, so I’m happy to see the networks are locking horns with uber-cheap deals,
sparking a new low — the £10 tariff.
You’re not going to get the sexiest new smart phone for free
on this tariff, but there are some good budget
phones available at the moment that I wouldn’t throw out of bed for eating
crackers.
I’ve rooted through the deals so you don’t have to, but it’s
always a good idea to compare contracts using an independent retailer, such as Carphone Warehouse or Phones4U, or a comparison site, such as BillMonitor or our own Mobile Deals section.
I’ve listed these tariffs in approximate order of awesomeness, but check out the
details and keep your own particular needs in mind — a text addict’s
perfect deal could be a Web surfer’s nightmare.
Orange’s version includes 100 anytime minutes, 300 texts and your choice of a handful of
decent cheap phones, including the excellent Nokia 6303 Classic.
You’re locked in for three years, but at least you get an upgrade after 18
months. If you want some data on there to check out our Facebook page, you can add
500MB on a rolling 30-day contract for a fiver.
If even a tenner is too much, Orange also has a £5-a-month,
36-month tariff that gives you 50 minutes and 50 texts, and a free budget
phone.
T-Mobile’s £10 bundle
lasts a paltry two years in comparison, and includes 100 minutes,
100 texts and one free ‘booster‘ — an optional extra from a list that
includes unlimited data, roaming and unlimited texts. The booster is handy
because you can switch it every 30 days in case you need a little extra roaming
for a long holiday, for example. T-Mobile’s choice of free phones on this plan
also includes the 6303, as well as the popular touchscreen Samsung
Tocco Lite.
Virgin
Mobile offers a similar 100-minute, 100-text package for a tenner a month
for 18 months, but with heaps more free phones to choose from, including the
quite pleasant Nokia E63
and Sony
Ericsson W705 Walkman. But beware of the check-out process on Virgin’s Web site,
which automatically adds the optional insurance to your basket.
Vodafone’s
£10 deal has 75 minutes, 250 texts and lasts two years, but only has a small
selection of phones to choose from.
SIM-onlyIf you’re happy with the phone you’ve got, there’s also a
bunch of SIM-only deals that only cost a tenner a month, and only lock you in
for 30 days at a time.
T-Mobile has the same plan mentioned above without a phone
for £10 a month. We hate being tied down, but it’s such a pain
to switch that, unless you think you can be bothered, it’s probably worth
getting the longer contract and selling the free phone on eBay or sending
it in for a fat cheque.
O2
doesn’t offer any free phones on its £10 tariff, but, if you’re happy with the
phone you’ve got, the operator’s SIM-only plan gives you 150 minutes and 300 texts for a
tenner.
Tesco
Mobile’s odd SIM-only £10 plan gives you £40 of flexible credit, which is enough
for 400 minutes of calls or 800 texts to your five favourite numbers.
Finally, Talkmobile does
several SIM-only plans for £10 and under. For £7.50 a month, you can have 100
minutes and 100 texts. Data is available too, but it’ll cost you 30p per day up to
25MB, and £1 per megabyte that you go over.
