So this is going to be a page of choices about which network to choose (including virtual networks MVNOs) so people can have a better choice of what is better for which purpose they need.

Please note that as much as we are partnered with Elite Mobile for Sim Card Sales and Epay Worldwide for Top-up providers. The networks mentioned might NOT indicate ones that are common and sold from us and also ones that can advertise offers which can act into false advertising or not a simple pricing structure. Prices will vary and change from the date this gets posted aka changes do happen.

The Speed And Coverage

With regards to Tavistock, there are around 4 major masts in the area which provide the networks for the main 4 networks in the UK. Which prominently is the company that manages O2 and Vodafone networks. This is how the common note is how many people are on the said networks due to the mast. But please note this is estimated and the below shows the best network to use (NOT if there is coverage in exact spots, since there are overlaps and this is community-based). Currently 5G is on EE via the mast near Buddly quarry since August 2023. Down Road has been on its way for upgrades to 5G.

A diagram of the best networks in certain parts of the town Back in May 2022 (Provided by Mastdata)
A diagram of the best networks in certain parts of the town Back in June 2024 (Provided by Mastdata)

So when it comes to Speed, there have always been bands in that respect that can cause the speed to be different. So when it comes to our experience of the networks and speeds, from our experience the chart of them goes in the following order.

  1. EE
  2. Vodafone
  3. Three
  4. O2

Now, this is something to be aware of, that the virtual networks/MVNO aka the middle side networks, the speed can be lower depending on the usage of the devices in the area. The big 4 get the priority on the speed side, this has been known when big events mean smaller network operators can have no access to the internet even with a stronger signal/ full signal.

The Purpose to choose the right sim

So this is where the nitty-gritty begins on what to choose. There are plenty of networks and all have their good and bad side so the choice depends on what purpose you wish to have. Since this part makes sense in the national sort of idea. This page will explain some of the choices for some situations.

Situation #1: I just want a phone for the emergency or rare contact only

So this is the basic usage which the Pay as you Go Sims are a very good idea but depending the choice of sim and network, depends on how much ends up spent. Now the best type of phones for this are non-Smart phones such as the Nokia, and Doro and phones with a dial pad on them without a touchscreen. Be aware Smartphones in this situation can cause EXPENSIVE costs if not set up correct such as DATA, CELLULAR or PACKET DATA turned OFF on the device.

For this situation, the sims recommended on this. The Pure pay-as-you-go sims are the best to use for this. Each network has its downsides and positives but will be posted further down. There might be some exceptions to this such as RWG Mobile, Vectone and NOW Mobile

Situation #2: I want to use my phone a small bit, maybe use Maps, email or Whatsapp outside the House

Now, this is the next stage to decide how much is spent and the key to this is that data is needed and Pay as you go is possible but can be more expensive than intended. Also with the key of Whatsapp, Pay as you Go sims are important to keep making sure a call or text is made in a period of time to keep the number working. Most providers are in a 6-month period, some are 80 days. Networks for this one you can use vouchers without inputting name and details or commit to a plan or contract.

Situation #3: I use my phone quite often which includes internet and calling

So this is where the best option is to really stick to a bundle or contract or Sim only plan since this gives the most out of your phone without costing the arm or leg of money. Now the bundle or plan you choose is where things are of your fiance and choice. Also due to some locations and choice of network, the features like Wifi calling might be handy if you are not using apps such as Whatsapp, Signal or even iMessage (Blue messages on iPhones when using the messages app)

Situation #4: My life is on my phone or I use the phone day in and day out

Bundles from providers with Wifi calling are going to be the best so you get signal as much as you need and also get the minutes needed as well as making sure you have the data when you need it, more than likely you are already in a contract with a device or phone but if not, then what you choose here is to make sure the price and amount are right for you.

Situation #5: I just need internet in the house and don’t want a landline OR Want to Travel and have access in say a Boat or Caravan

Really this page is best for you to choose the 4G for the internet page, but ideally, this is where you will NEED a bundle from a provider and depending on the location need antennas to make sure the signal is strong enough. Faster Speeds mean the Big 4 as a Sim only, slower speeds minus Onecall, The MVNO networks are a better pricing point. Plus for the travellers, the Bundles are a very good option for a set amount, some providers do Pre Paid bundles for say 3 months per time

Pay As You Go Sims

As referred for Situation #1 and #2. Pay-as-you-go sims are a good bet and Here is a list of some of the ones that might be of note which can work either way for what you wish. Some have their good sides and some have their bad sides. Please note, NOT ALL prices are listed here and the basic ones most will want to know are listed.

Also when it comes to Voicemail, most of the providers below will charge their normal calling rates for Voicemail to be listened to and Price can change at any time

  • EE Pay as you go – Runs on EE, has Wifi Calling, £0.35 per minute and £0.35 per text but NO DATA allowed without a bundle or Addon such as £1 for 50MB
  • Vodafone Pay As you Go – Runs on Vodafone, If not in a bundle, it costs £1 per day which is Unlimited Minutes and Texts along with 50MB of data
  • O2 Pay As You Go – Runs on O2 – If Not in a bundle, £0.55 per minute, £0.30 per text and £3 per MB which is capped up to £2 max per day
  • Three Pay As you Go – Runs on Three – Has Wifi calling, If not in a bundle – £0.10 per minute, £0.10 per text and £0.05 per MB UNTIL 12th July 2022, will increase to £0.35 per minute, £0.15 per text and £0.10 per MB.
  • Lebara – Runs on Vodafone – If not in a bundle, £0.25 per minute, £0.19 per text and £0.09 per MB
  • Lyca Mobile – Runs on O2 until June 2023 which NOW runs on EE – If not in a bundle, £0.15 per minute to a landline, £0.23 per minute to non-lyca mobiles, £0.23 per text to non-Lyca Mobiles and £0.15 per MB
  • 1p Mobile – Runs on EE – £10 to be topped up every 3 months and £0.01 Per mb of data, £0.01 per text and £0.01 per minute. Can only be ordered online or from retailers quite far away from the Town
  • Vectone Mobile – Runs on EE, If not in bundle, £0.12 per minute to a landline, £0.19 per minute to Mobile, £0.19 per Text and £0.09 per MB. The sim card can be ordered online or from retailers quite far away from the Town
  • RWG Mobile – Runs on EE, Has Wifi calling, If not in the monthly plan, £0.05 per minute, £0.05 per text and £0.01 per MB, an only be ordered online only due to Wales to purchase a Sim physically.
  • GiffGaff – Runs on O2, IF not in a goodybag, £0.25 per minute, £0.10 per text, £0.10 per MB,
  • CMLink – Runs on EE, a Chinese network so some might not like it, IF not in a Plan, £0.08 per minute, £0.06 per text, NO DATA allowed without a plan, and Can only be ordered online only
  • Tesco Mobile – Runs on O2, The conversion to the pure pay-as-you-go Lite is for their existing customers only. then it’s £0.08 per Minute, £0.04 per text, £0.10 per MB,
  • Asda Mobile – Runs on Vodafone, has Wifi Calling, £0.04 per minute, £0.04 per text and £0.04 per MB, To visit an Asda store or Order online aka 15 miles away

As you can see, there is a FAIR range of VAST choices which some never heard of and some have their caveats for the usage, For phones that have no smart features, some of those caveats won’t apply or the need to worry about it.

No Contract/Rolling Plan Sims.

Now, this is more become the most common style of service providers offer if not want to commit to purchasing a phone from the said provider or some resellers such as FoneHouse, Utility Warehouse and Carphone Warehouse. These can be much cheaper depending on the features you need. Situations #3, #4 and #5 would be much better off with this type of sim for the longer savings of cost. There are some Caveats such as minutes are up to the first hour of a phone call and UK calls only and a fair usage policy if Situation #5

  • EE – Runs on EE, has Wifi Calling and Data Rollover, Packs start from £10 which is 6+GB, Unlimited Texts and 500 minutes.
  • Vodafone – Runs on Vodafone, Plans start form £10 for 7GB of Data, Unlimited Minutes and Text and Rollover so not used can keep on to the next month, reasonable for higher data usages.
  • O2 – Runs on O2 – Bundles are Big Value starting from £5 per month for unlimited minutes and texts but NO DATA. Data of 7GB starts from £10 per month
  • Three – Runs on Three – Has Wifi calling, Packs start from £10 for 8GB DATA, unlimited minutes and texts, Can be prone to doing boost packs such as extra data if sim card or pack purchased in a certain period.
  • ID Mobile – Runs on Three, Has Wifi Calling, Plans Start from £6 per month for 4GB of DATA, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts. Owned by Carphone Warehouse AND also the 1 month plans are the no contract aspect.
  • Smarty – Runs on Three, Has Wifi calling and 5G, Plans start from £6 per month for 4GB, Unlimited Minutes and Texts. This one is good for Internet connections if good signal with the EE masts and cheapest of the simple plan for unlimited internet
  • Voxi – Runs on Vodafone, has 5G and Wifi Calling, Plans start from £10 per month for Unlimited Minutes, Texts, normally 15GB of Data But certain apps and sites are not part of your allowance and unlimited hence the endless part. Bundle Data amounts vary almost bi-monthly but do not change if you purchase said plan in the said promo. Unlimited Picture Messaging and even endless video services on higher plans. Perfect for those using more than they think
  • Lebara – Runs on Vodafone, has 5G, Has Wifi calling on most Honor, Xiaomi and iPhones, Plans start from £5 per month for 1000 UK minutes, 100 International minutes, 1000 Texts, 5GB of Data if purchased plan via the website, 2.5GB if plan not purchased via the website. Contracts are offered with a 10% discount which is a 12-month plan. Unlimited internet for £25 is very good for internet needing customers but 150mbps is limited speed.
  • Lyca Mobile – Runs on O2 until June 2023 which NOW runs on EE, Has 5G, Starts from £5 per month for 1000 UK minutes, 1000 Texts, 1GB of DATA if plan not purchased from the website, 3GB DATA if plan purchased from their website. Some payment issues with customers have faced in the past which can be off-putting if trying to be rolling. Also recently have been pulling aggressive hard-to-understand offers such as 50% off the first 3 months for new customers. Unlimited internet for £25 is No longer good for customers due to the fact it is throttled in speed after 15GB of data is used
  • Vectone Mobile – Runs on EE, Starting from £3 per month for 500MB of Data, 100 minutes and 100 texts. Can only be ordered online only. Good for the bare minimum but some networks offer more data.
  • RWG Mobile – Runs on EE, Has NO Wifi Calling HAS 5G. They start from £2 per month for 100 minutes, 100 texts and 500MB of data. Ideal for the really tight budget but ordered online only unless going to wales since stockists might appear.
  • Now Mobile – Runs on EE, Has NO Wifi Calling, HAS 5G. Starts from £2.50 per month for 1GB Data, 100 minutes, 100 Texts.
  • Superdrug Mobile – Runs on Three, NO Wifi Calling, HAS 5G, Plans start from £10 per month for unlimited Minutes and Texts and 5GB of DATA.
  • GiffGaff – Runs on O2, Goodybags start from £6 per month for unlimited minutes and texts and 1GB of Data. Golden Goodybags card only for payment but have more Data.
  • CMLink – Runs on EE, a Chinese network so some might not like it, 5G, 1.5GB of data with unlimited texts, 150 UK minutes and 1000 international minutes for £6 per month. Not ideal for most UK Users. but Does have 200GB for £20 per month for Situation #5/4G for internet
  • Tesco Mobile – Runs on O2, Rocket Packs Start from £7.50 for 2GB of Data, 500 Minutes and 5,000 Texts.
  • Asda Mobile, Runs on Vodafone, has Wifi Calling, and Starts from £5 per month for 3GB of Data, unlimited Minutes and Text. OR you can have unlimited everything but slow the speed you get it from £20 per month. Very good value for the most part. 5G devices can only get 5G speeds from the £10 bundle.
  • Onecall – Runs on O2 AND Vodafone at the same time if needed. Has 5G but No wifi calling. Starts from £29 per month but uses special settings which can include faster speeds than the other o2 based networks.
  • Spusu – Runs on EE. Has Wifi Calling, Starts from £2.90 for 1GB Special Plan a month or a 5GB exclusive Plan, Can offer Unlimited Data for £34 to £29 a month. Can have special offers but does clearly explain regular price on advertisement. Support number is provided as well.

Contract Based Sims

When it comes to this section, its not really something we can provide but like the above, many of them offer contracts of the plan with the device in a fixed period and deal with RPI price changes and that section on things.

  • EE – Runs on EE, Has Wifi Calling and 5G, Plans start as 1 month contracts from £18 per month for Unlimited Texts and Minutes but 250MB of DATA
  • O2 – Runs on O2, Has Wifi Calling and 5G, Plans Start as 1 month contracts from £20 per month for Unlimited Texts and Minutes but 1GB of DATA
  • Giffgaff – Runs on O2, Has NO Wifi Calling, Starts from £8 per month for 18th Month Contract Sim, 6GB DATA, Unlimited UK minutes and texts
  • Vodafone – Runs on Vodafone, Has Wifi calling and 5G, Plans start as 1 month contracts from £24 per month for Unlimited Texts and Minutes but 1GB of Data and Rewards they offer with the Red Program.
  • Three – Runs on Three, Has Wifi Calling and 5G, Plans start as 1 month contracts from £19 per month for Unlimited Minutes and Texts and 4GB of DATA as well as Roaming with little or no extra cost
  • BT – Runs on EE, Has Wifi Calling, Plans start as a 1 month contract from £13 Per month for Unlimited Minutes and Texts and 4 GB of DATA.
  • Sky Mobile – Runs on O2, Has wifi calling, Plans start as a 12 month contract from £6 per month for Unlimited Minutes and Texts but 2GB of DATA.
  • Virgin Mobile , Runs on Vodafone until further notice which then changes to O2, Has Wifi Calling and 5G, Plans Start at 12 months from £7 per month for 10GB DATA, Unlimited Minutes and Texts

Summary,

That pretty much sims up the options for what might be good for an offer for what route you want to take, feel free to contact us if you do need help with setting up any of the non contract options and Pay as you Go options as well.