Have you ever wondered how you can save money on your mobile phone bill? Maybe you’ve looked at your monthly bill and been astonished at the amount of cash leaving your bank each and every month. I was in that situation and I will get onto it a little more below. But this has led me to look at how to save money and one of the easy options is by switching to mobile virtual network operators.
Why Was I Looking To Switch?
I’ve been with EE for a long time. I was with them back in the Orange days. I’ve had the same phone number for many years and I originally started saving money by switching to a SIM only deal. I bought a handset I was happy with and then switched to a SIM only deal which was around £10 a month. This jumped up occasionally, as mobile bills tend to do annually in April. However, push came to shove when I got a text message saying my contract was coming to an end and the tariff I was on was no longer available.
The message also said I would be switched onto a £15 a month deal, for much more data than I needed. I use less than 10GB of data each month, and that’s being generous. £15 a month for just unlimited calls, texts and more data than I need seems a lot, especially when you aren’t factoring in the price of a handset. So I started to look around. Remember, staying with the same company very rarely gives you anything. New customer deals are generally better than the deals given to existing customers. So don’t stay loyal when they aren’t rewarding that loyalty.
I started looking around and came across an offer that Money Saving Expert had available. It was for one of the Mobile Virtual Network Operators. You had to click through the website in order to access the deal, but it was 8 months for only £1.20 a month. This gave you unlimited calls and texts, along with 50GB of data a month. This is far more than I needed, but it was the price that made me sign up. 8 months of £1.20 is only £9.60. That’s two-thirds of a year for less than a tenner! After that 8 month period I can switch again, or stay and it increases to about £9 a month. I can also port my number across fairly easily.
Needless to say, I ditched and switched.
What Are Mobile Virtual Network Operators?
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (or MVNOs) are companies you may have heard of or seen advertised. They piggyback on the four main mobile networks, those companies that own their own infrastructure. So the four main ones are Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three. The MVNOs include Lyca, Asda Mobile, giffgaff and SMARTY.
I’ve listed below which companies piggyback on which of the big four networks. This will be important to you if you are considering switching, so you can check the coverage in your local area or where you work.
The MVNO I was switching to was Lebera. I checked the coverage info (they use Vodafone) as I was switching away from EE. Where I live and spend most of my time (although I generally connect to Wi-Fi) seemed decent, so I switched. As yet, no issues.
What Companies Use Other Networks?
EE piggybacking companies
- 1p Mobile
- CMLink
- CTExcel
- Ecotalk
- Lyca Mobile
- spusu
- Your Co-op
- 1Global
- Utility Warehouse
Vodafone piggybacking companies
- Asda Mobile
- Lebara
- Talkmobile
- VOXI
O2 piggybacking companies
- giffgaff
- Sky Mobile
- Tesco Mobile
Three piggybacking companies
- iD Mobile
- SMARTY
- Superdrug Mobile
How To Get Decent MVNO Deals
I have found that new customer deals for Mobile Virtual Network Operators are really quite decent. It makes me wonder why we stick with the companies we do. Grabbing deals from money saving websites is a great idea. Or check sites such as HotUKDeals as good deals tend to be posted on there. If you’re happy with the company you’re with, because of the mobile coverage you get, it’s definitely worth looking at the companies that piggyback on that network.
Some MVNOs guarantee no price rises, others might have better offers if you have a 12 or 24 month contract. You might want to freedom to leave so a 30 day rolling contract might be better for you. Do a bit of research and see where you can save the most money and get the best deal for your situation.
Be sure to check if you can save even further by clicking through via a cashback site like Quidco.
Whilst I had loyalty offers attached to my EE account, it was still far more expensive than going elsewhere. It was interesting to get a call from EE about 10 minutes after I texted for my PAC number to port my number across to my new SIM. I couldn’t hear what they were saying as it was a bad line, but I assume I would have been offered a retention deal. I doubt it would have been £1.20 a month.
