Lebara, Vodafone or Talkmobile

jnm21

I am ready for a new contract & have decided I like the Vodafone signal at home/work, plus find the value offered good.

Which brand is the killer Q.

VeryMe gets me a few £ off at Tesco every few months - nice, but not crucial.  5G is nice to have (not at my home on any network despite the coverage checkers  saying otherwise)!

Now we started to get down to the issues - does 5G have a significant influence on coverage when travelling (locally & further)? Does a native Vodafone customer get better roaming on 4G than Talkmobile?  Talkmobile gives me more data for less money.

Lebara is about the same cost as Vodafone, but without cashback claims.  They give much less data at the price point, but while WFH & not out much, that is fine - this relies on their major plus, no contract (if I need more data at some point, I'm free to change)!  Further I can make good use of their free international minutes once in a while!

Help me decide please - my head hurts.

jnm21

Now in addition to my head hurting, I must decide urgently due to the Vodafone announcement! 

Anyone any input?

JenB79

How much data do you want each month? VF sim only plans bought via carphonewarehouse.com are decently priced, eg 100gb data per month for £16/m, 15gb data for £8/m or 30gb for £10/m, though the latter 2 are 'VF Basics' plans, eg no roaming included. Personally I would go with the main network directly rather than its MVNO, whenever possible.

jnm21

JenB79 said:

How much data do you want each month? VF sim only plans bought via carphonewarehouse.com are decently priced, eg 100gb data per month for £16/m, 15gb data for £8/m or 30gb for £10/m, though the latter 2 are 'VF Basics' plans, eg no roaming included. Personally I would go with the main network directly rather than its MVNO, whenever possible.

Roaming is crucial, so basics are out.

I need to know if anyone has experience of roaming with both TM & VF (e.g. had VF at same time partner had TM & when roaming...).

I have a few good offers in mind - generally looking at a 2 year deal to lock in the free roaming for as long as possible! 

JenB79

Are things like wifi calling, VoLTE, iOS Visual Voicemail important? If so, I don't think Talkmobile offer any/some of these whereas VF does.

jnm21

Thanks Jen - 1st 2 are nice, not important (I don't pay the apple tax, so 3rd of no importance ).

I needed reassuring that TM would provide as good a signal & as reliable a data speed (4G speeds are fine, 12Mbps does everything I need - no signal/poor data speeds went I need to use my phone are not). 

I went for a VF deal that I had been looking at for a while - 25GB for about £4.20 after cashback (redemption & TCB) at Metrophone (comes with a burner phone - Alcatel 1066).  25GB lets me use 4G around the house (WiFi can be patchy in kitchen & bathroom) & net cost is bargain basement (30GB on TM was £2/mth cheaper, £2.50 cheaper if I went for an unknown brand C151 phone).

If VF had had a straight 20GB for £10, I might have went for that (so I could keep it long term), but all their (decent priced) deals jump up after max 2 years (basics is a dirty word in my book).