Alternative to BT Mobile Family SIM (staying on EE network)? - 1pMobile?

alcester

Hi All,

My BT Broadband contract (£120 per month) will come to an end in a few months and I'm looking at alternatives.

As part of this, I have a BT Mobile Family SIM bundle (£30 per month for 4 SIMs with 8GB Data, Unlimited Calls, Unlimited Txts, EU Roaming). This element is out of contract but I cannot find a cheaper or same-priced alternative in isolation due to the discounts BT apply for being a Broadband customer.

I am unlikely to continue with BT/EE for Broadband as their rivals are now selling the services I need over the same physical Openreach infrastructure much more cheaply. This will therefore make the Family SIM component much more costly (if I am even allowed to keep it after ceasing Broadband).

The Family SIM concept makes it easy for me to administer and pay for the 4 SIMs on behalf of my kids while they are still at school / Uni. The EE network has proven to be superior for calls / data in the various locations we each live, work and visit compared to my wife's and my work phones (O2 and Vodafone respectively).

I have found 1pMobile through research on MSE, and on the face of it they look like a viable alternative for slightly more data but otherwise identical service (including 4G / Wifi Calling; 5G service where available, EU Roaming etc.). This would cost £2 more per month than I am paying now (for all 4 SIMs) and without a 'bundle' commitment or contract.

1pMobile reviews seem to be OK, but I am concerned about their size and reports of having difficulty reaching them should there ever be a problem with the service. E.g. I couldn't raise them on the phone yesterday or this morning to discuss a move as a potential new customer.

Does anyone have recent experience of 1pMobile or has anyone found a solid alternative to BT Mobile Family SIM bundles after moving away from BT?

Many Thanks,

muffinhead

Your current SIMs are 8GB. Do you know your actual monthly data usage for each sim?

If you do use less, Spusu could be a contender - 5GB for £4.50 per month on a rolling monthly bundle:

https://www.spusu.co.uk/spusu5exclusive

or if you don't need VoLTE or WiFi calling, Talk Home have this monthly plan - 10GB for £4.49:

https://talkhome.co.uk/sim-only-deals/offer/msm/281

531063

Sky mobile used to allow you to share data between sim's, don't know if they still do, worth a look maybe

flaneurs_lobster

531063 said:

Sky mobile used to allow you to share data between sim's, don't know if they still do, worth a look maybe

Sky Mobile uses O2's network, which the OP has said is sub-optimal for their usage.

531063

flaneurs_lobster said:

531063 said:

Sky mobile used to allow you to share data between sim's, don't know if they still do, worth a look maybe

Sky Mobile uses O2's network, which the OP has said is sub-optimal for their usage.

Yes, but OP didn't say he would not consider O2, If any reason for not considering sky would be their roaming cost's possibly. 

tinker411

I think it'd depend on what the prime requirement here is - is it ease of group/family plan management? Allowances? EE? Customer Service? Something else?

In general though, although the Three network hasn't been mentioned, Smarty might be worth a look? They're still doing their group plans where the first plan is charged as normal then any others (up to 7 more, groups can be up to 8 in size) in the group are discounted by 10%.

If EE is a priority though then you won't go wrong with 1p Mobile. Yes, customer service is visibly overrun (the best way to contact them is by Live Chat) but once you're signed up you likely won't need them as much as you may think as online account management is almost irritatingly simple. If you want EE & call centre then your main option will probably be Spusu.

alcester

Thanks for your comments.

I do indeed wish to stick with the EE network as O2, Vodafone and 3 have proven much too troublesome in the areas we need them.

And 3 of the SIMs regularly hit the 8GB limit so having a little headroom would be useful.

I'll take a look at Spusu and 1pMobile 'head to head'!

tinker411

alcester said:

Thanks for your comments.

I do indeed wish to stick with the EE network as O2, Vodafone and 3 have proven much too troublesome in the areas we need them.

And 3 of the SIMs regularly hit the 8GB limit so having a little headroom would be useful.

I'll take a look at Spusu and 1pMobile 'head to head'!

1p v Spusu it is then 👍

Any questions about 1p (as I use them in my mobile router) give me a nudge and I'll let you know what I know.

Murmansk

I think 1p are a better bet than Spusu as they've been going for a long time whereas Spusu are very new and probably have FAR fewer customers.

alcester

To close the loop on this thread...

I selected 1pMobile and now manage all 4 SIMs under a single account. The Port-In process went without incident and my kids have reported no issues with voice or data coverage or speed.

Thanks for all your comments!