PAYG SIM Recommendation? - For Tethering

Hi -

I'm a relatively infrequent mobile user, who uses SIM-only PAYG.

I'm about to change provider to 3 Mobile - their 321 tariff seems by far the best value for this kind of usage pattern.

One thing though - I see they don't allow tethering on this service.

I hardly ever use tethering, but have found it extremely useful on a couple of occasions when my landline broadband has gone done temporarily, and I've needed an emergency backup service.
( My studio is in my house, so I need a broadband connection here for my work. )

Could anyone recommend a provider / tariff for an emergency backup SIM, which I could use for tethering?
Wouldn't be using it for P2P, gaming etc - just for email, FTP, and web browsing.

Requirements would be
* Allows tethering
* SIM can be left unused for a length of time without shutting down (say 3-6 months)
* Is really PAYG, i.e doesn't require block buy of data which expires after X weeks mostly unused

Any and all ideas for emergency broadband backup gratefully received...

a second broadband connection or EE PAYG maybe or 3 AYCE with 30GB

or business 3 AYCE as that comes with 350GB of tethering only £21-22 with vat (i am rounding it up) or £17.50 ex vat (not sure if they said 350gb or 450gb of tethering)

an EE sim does sound like what you need if you need it at random times

you can buy 1 year PAYG sims that only expire when data is used up or 12 months (whichever happens first)

I've had a look online for EE PAYG SIMs, but with all of them the credit seems to expire after 30 days. Does the 1 year one have a particular name?

Try talkmobile - runs on Vodafone network and payg is 2p per MB for data. Also good for calls at 10p for up to an hour, and good roaming rates.

Edit: Maybe should also mention that it doesn't offer 4g - might be a deal breaker for you, but my experience is that 4g is not always faster. I guess it depends what is available in your area and your signal strength etc.

Edited by ajpn (Sun 17-Apr-16 15:45:42)

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

I've had a look online for EE PAYG SIMs, but with all of them the credit seems to expire after 30 days. Does the 1 year one have a particular name?

i am not sure about rules on here but i can be moderated if so

only seen them on ebay (reputable sellers) you can just search the number below

ebay item 191702408420 is the only listing on there that is £80 EE 24GB for 12 months

or a £25 3 data only sim that is 12GB for 12 months , item 201557825689 (witch is surprisingly cheap other sellers are doing same one at £35-45)

ebay "12 month sim" and limit it to Sim Cards category, you see 24GB for 12 months on there and others

i would ignore the t-mobile unlimited ones as they have a monthly 1GB high speed cap (once 1GB has been used its slowed down in the day time)

Is that 24GB per month or for the whole year, averaging 2GB?

350gb of tethering for 22 a month?

whats the catch?

In reply to a post by epyon:

350gb of tethering for 22 a month?

whats the catch?

don't know i guess there would not be one (maybe lower priority on the tethering but its a business one so i would expect slightly higher priority )

I will look into this then

as it would be a godsend considering where i'm working right now has 1mbps speeds.

OK, I've had a look into Talkmobile Happy Hour, but unfortunately they don't allow tethering on their PAYG.

I'm not sure why this is thought to be such an issue, since you are paying by the MB anyway, regardless of the screen size of the device being used, but there does seem to be an issue.

Does anyone know of any mobile operator that does allow tethering on PAYG?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Is that 24GB per month or for the whole year, averaging 2GB?

The latter, of course. It works out at about £3 per GB or £7.50 per month, whichever runs out first. Probably the best value you'll find anywhere. IME, EE 4G is the best by a significant margin.

However, if anyone can find a link to the 3 alternative at £22 per month, that would be interesting. Right now I'm paying £20 per month for 15GB on EE

Edited by hoopla (Tue 19-Apr-16 16:19:26)

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

Does anyone know of any mobile operator that does allow tethering on PAYG?

EE allows tethering on their PAYG voice SIMs. They also do PAYG data SIMs which fundamentally do tethering - I used to have one in my MiFi.

Voice:
http://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-as-you-go-phones

Data:
http://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-as-you-go-data

I have not had a problem tethering with a 3 PAYG Sim. It is not allowed in the T&C, but for me it has worked. I have just done it when on holiday in the UK staying in rental places that don't have broadband.

Yes, I looked into the EE ones, but unfortunately their PAYG doesn't seem to be what I mean by PAYG - i.e. it's buy a block of data which expires after 30 days, rather than pay by the MB for the data you use...

That's interesting. Once I've been using it for a month or two I reckon I'll give it a test run, see how it goes...

OK, for anyone coming to this thread interested in PAYG (i.e. pay-by-the-megabyte) SIM-only tethering, my findings as of April 2016 are that sadly it barely exists.

Good pay-by-the-megabyte deals are available from 3 mobile (1p per MB) and also TalkMobile & The People's Operator (both 2p per MB) but none of these three companies allow tethering on their PAYG products (officially).

The one exception seems to be GiffGaff, who do allow tethering on their PAYG, but whose price is now 5p per MB.

Thanks to everyone who helped out with info. My plan for my emergency broadband is to get a GIffGaff SIM (which comes with £5 free credit on your first top-up) and top it up with a £5 Gigabag which gives 500 MB.

The question of "true PAYG" vs "Blocks of data that expire" is a tricky one to decide. It really depends what your regular usage is, and what your emergency usage would be.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

I'm a relatively infrequent mobile user, who uses SIM-only PAYG.

One thing though - I see they don't allow tethering on this service.

For our mobiles, we use EE PAYG, and have pretty low demands right now.

I started using their £1 per week data pack with 100MB allowance (so roughly 500MB per month), but using their bonus packs, I get to boost this by an extra 50MB after each 3 months.

The pricing ends up at around 1p per MB (similar to 3's 3-2-1), if I use all of the 100MB, though the pack also comes with a few minutes and texts too. Once each boost gets added, the cost obviously reduces (again, if you use all of the data).

I'm finding 100-150MB per week is enough for me for regular use. Teenage daughter needs more - but 200MB per week seems to cover it. The wife finds 50MB closer, but wanted more texts, so uses a slightly different weekly pack (only 10MB allowance), with a 50MB data boost.

With the boosts from 3-6 months, these EE SIMs are now acting cheaper than our previous Three ones were, and the coverage is better.

Tethering is allowed, but I only use this for browsing from a tablet, and again, infrequently during the week.

I hardly ever use tethering, but have found it extremely useful on a couple of occasions when my landline broadband has gone done temporarily, and I've needed an emergency backup service.
( My studio is in my house, so I need a broadband connection here for my work. )

Ah, for emergency backup when the landline fails, I use a separate solution; more of that later.

On the above PAYG packs, I could choose to add blocks of data for emergency use for work:
- 100MB for £1 (lasts 7 days)
- 500MB for £3 (lasts 7 days)
- 500MB for £5 (lasts 30 days)
- 1GB for £7.50 (lasts 30 days)
- 3GB for £15 (lasts 30 days)

As it would be work usage, it would be almost a no-brainer to use these blocks, depending on the length of outage.

But for more efficient emergency usage -as it would include my wife's work and the kids' connections too - I have a "MiFi"-style device (Huawei e5372), an external antenna (MIMO) and then make use of specific EE MBB (mobile broadband) SIMs. They are still a form of PAYG, but data-oriented.

The cheapest way to use the MiFi device has been to buy one of the pre-loaded SIMs from Amazon; with 6GB, they tend to be priced around £15 (0.25p per MB). They're valid for 90 days once you start to use them, but we tend to have one pre-purchased, unused, ready for such an emergency. And they tend to be cheaper than the 24GB/annual pre-loaded SIMs.

Once used up, the SIM can be discarded, and replaced with a new pre-loaded one, or topped-up and used with add-ons similar to the ones above. On an MBB SIM, the add-ons tend to be a little more expensive, but you can get larger ones.
- 500MB for £3 (lasts 1 day)
- 1GB for £10 (lasts 30 days)
- 2GB for £15 (lasts 30 days)
- 4GB for £20 (lasts 30 days)
- 10GB for £30 (lasts 30 days)
Compared to these, a new SIM, pre-loaded with 6GB, lasting 90 days is quite a good deal.

This setup also tends to then be used by the family for holidays. We do go through the blocks of data then.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

Yes, I looked into the EE ones, but unfortunately their PAYG doesn't seem to be what I mean by PAYG - i.e. it's buy a block of data which expires after 30 days, rather than pay by the MB for the data you use...

Ok, you want AAISP's data SIM:
http://aa.net.uk/telecoms-mobile-data.html

That would be just the thing, except that the SIM seems to come with a £2 + VAT per month fee.

So if my broadband doesn't go down this year, I'd be £29 out of pocket for zero data.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

That would be just the thing, except that the SIM seems to come with a £2 + VAT per month fee.
So if my broadband doesn't go down this year, I'd be £29 out of pocket for zero data.

If you suspend the SIM on the control panel you don't pay the £2 - and it may take a bit to re-enable.

Not sure you can get free standby solutions with no cost ; someone has to fund the infrastructure.

Well, I suppose you could view it a bit like the standing charge on an energy bill.

On the other hand, mobile phone use doesn't require specific infrastructure for each separate customer: except our own phone, which we've presumably paid for personally if we're using PAYG. In that sense it's more like buying food: you shouldn't need a subscription to the supermarket to maintain their transport infrastructure, you should be able simply to pay for the food you intend to use, as you use it.

That pay-per-megabyte model seems to be available for data delivered direct to the phone screen; but when the data is routed to a computer, the rules appear to change. Which seems inconsistent: if the phone company were worried about overloading their system, surely they could simply throttle the data? After all, using BitTorrent on a phone is going to place a lot more strain on their resources than checking email via a desktop machine...

I don't think aaisp care how data is used as you're paying by KB or MB. EE works in the same way.

It's those that offer unlimited on handset (three) or those who offer high volume at very low price (BT mobile) that limit tethering.

Cost of handset has no income to network. You can buy handsets on Amazon diredt from Samsung, Htc, Apple etc.

Enough people have to pay regular amounts to fund the network or it won't exist. I don't personally believe in saying "that's someone else's problem".

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

So if my broadband doesn't go down this year, I'd be £29 out of pocket for zero data.

And if your car isn't involved in a crash you'll be rather more out of pocket because of the insurance premium.

Backup is insurance.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

Yes, I looked into the EE ones, but unfortunately their PAYG doesn't seem to be what I mean by PAYG - i.e. it's buy a block of data which expires after 30 days, rather than pay by the MB for the data you use...

it means exactly what it means 30 day is normal

if you need a fire and forget sim the 12 month ones are the best option (or just get a 3 AYCE contract with 30GB of tethering data) but Not From ee or 3 website

In reply to a post by leexgx:

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

Yes, I looked into the EE ones, but unfortunately their PAYG doesn't seem to be what I mean by PAYG - i.e. it's buy a block of data which expires after 30 days, rather than pay by the MB for the data you use...

it means exactly what it means 30 day is normal

if you need a fire and forget sim the 12 month ones are the best option (or just get a 3 AYCE contract with 30GB of tethering data) but Not From ee or 3 website

As I mentioned earlier, one of the key bits of information is how much data does the OP use. How much does he need on a daily/weekly/monthly basis on his mobile? And how much would be needed in the event of an emergency, to keep the business and family going?

Without knowing these numbers, it is impossible to ever judge whether a "block" basis (where the price per MB is cheaper) is better than a "true PAYG" price per MB.

For me, the two numbers are wildly different. 100MB per week for normal usage is enough to make the "block" preferable to the PAYG. And emergency work usage can extend to a GB per day, making one (or more) of those 6GB pre-loaded SIMs a no-brainer - even if I only use 2GB of the data, it is cheaper than standard PAYG rates.

In practice, the 6GB SIMs never expire with data left on them. We will always find a use for them over the 90 days. If we used these bigger SIMs at a slower rate, then the 12-month one would be better.

A PAYG that expires after a month is not PAYG. It is a monthly contract.

It is only comparatively recently this scam was introduced. PAYG never used to expire, on any network. Though a few providers would terminate the number after a long time.

I still have an Orange Racoon PAYG which I left with a balance of 7p on it for over two years. Picked it up again with no problem when it became useful to do so.

Years ago I bought a phone with a forced included £10 Virgin PAYG SIM. Which I replaced immediately after it was registered with my own O2 SIM. Three or four years later it still had it's balance on and worked. Some time between then and last year it was ceased, so I just binned it.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

A PAYG that expires after a month is not PAYG.

Your kind of PAYG still exists but is not in the networks interests for data. Voice and SMS is fine.

The problem with data is the sheer investment they are having to make, vastly outweighs previous investment, as the data volumes are increasing insanely on an annual basis. This has to be paid for somehow. Voice calls and SMS are not increasing - hence the plethora of networks offering unlimited talk/text and xx GB of data on a contract, either 30day or 12m.

Its the youngsters, those under 18, who cannot get a contract of any type, whom are driving this market - they are all using smartphones and want Instagram, Snapchat etc (most no longer use facebook I'm told). Photographs on these high resolution displays and video use a lot of data.

Edited by jchamier (Fri 22-Apr-16 12:47:57)

It's still a monthly, or whatever, contract if it expires after a fixed time. It isn't PAYG which by definition is pay (normally in advance) for what you use.

I've no objection to the products - just their invalid description. I admit I can't instantly think of what they could be called instead.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

The problem with data is the sheer investment they are having to make, vastly outweighs previous investment, as the data volumes are increasing insanely on an annual basis. This has to be paid for somehow.

If the issue is large data volumes, then surely this can be paid for very aptly by charging per MB - those who use large amounts of data will pay large amounts; those who use small amounts will pay small amounts, in exact proportion to usage.

As I pointed out, this isn't a situation where the provider has to install and maintain separate infrastructure for each user - the only individual hardware needed is the phone itself, for which (in the case of PAYG) the cost to the mobile company is zero.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

If the issue is large data volumes, then surely this can be paid for very aptly by charging per MB - those who use large amounts of data will pay large amounts; those who use small amounts will pay small amounts, in exact proportion to usage.

On the other hand, those who pay for a monthly contract of XX GB per month allow the operator to plan for months ahead - both in income and on likely usage.

That stability allows the operator to offer the XX GB at a lower "per MB" cost.

The ad-hoc user, who only wishes to pay per MB as and when it suits him, becomes something of an un-planned (and unplannable) burden on the network. The operator has to build extra capacity "just in case" for users like this ... so justifying the higher "per MB" cost to these people.

As I pointed out, this isn't a situation where the provider has to install and maintain separate infrastructure for each user

They have to install enough capacity for all users ... and squeezing extra capacity out of the spectrum means more transceivers, and more masts. That isn't zero cost.

If an operator wants to meet the expectations of the customers (ie enough throughput when they want it), they need to keep adding infrastructure. Or they need to set the price "per MB" high enough to cause a reduction in usage.

The customers they don't want? The ad-hoc, PAYG ones again - so they get higher costs.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

It's still a monthly, or whatever, contract if it expires after a fixed time. It isn't PAYG which by definition is pay (normally in advance) for what you use.

These 'packs' only originally applied to data, the voice minutes and SMS texts were paid on a per usage; and all the networks still offer real PAYG data, its just it ends up being VERY expensive for most modern users, so its makes commercial sense to sell these bundles. Mostly to people who can't get a 30day SIM only or are under age.

I've no objection to the products - just their invalid description. I admit I can't instantly think of what they could be called instead.

Likewise which is why I assume they are PAYG "with packs".

Three still offer the 3-2-1 plan, 3p per min, 2p per text, 1p per mb used.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

If the issue is large data volumes, then surely this can be paid for very aptly by charging per MB - those who use large amounts of data will pay large amounts; those who use small amounts will pay small amounts, in exact proportion to usage.

As WWWombat says this isn't about the data volume, its about *where* and *when* the data will be used; without reliable income.

As I pointed out, this isn't a situation where the provider has to install and maintain separate infrastructure for each user - the only individual hardware needed is the phone itself, for which (in the case of PAYG) the cost to the mobile company is zero.

Not quite - the radio spectrum costs a fortune (viz to Ofcom), and the fixed infrastructure costs are very high; amortised across all the user community. Basically the networks hate PAYG and want people on regular spending, even if that is as low as £5/m it allows them to plan.

Whereas fixed infrastructure like Openreach FTTC is a massive installation cost, but the running costs are significantly lower.

Three have a new Data Reward sim, that uses their 321 concept, but, if you register the sim you get free 200mb data allowance each month in addition, I would expect as the 200mb is refreshed each month that the sim continues to be valid even if you do not use it.

How long does the gigabag last from purchase with little or no usage, 30 days?

Yeah, I think that's what I've got.

Should be starting on it soon, just using up the last credit on my GiffGaff SIM.

For the GiffGaff gigabags it's a calendar month - i.e. if you buy it on the 17th, it expires on the 17th of the next month.

In reply to a post by gordon_k:

The one exception seems to be GiffGaff, who do allow tethering on their PAYG, but whose price is now 5p per MB.

Thanks to everyone who helped out with info. My plan for my emergency broadband is to get a GIffGaff SIM (which comes with £5 free credit on your first top-up) and top it up with a £5 Gigabag which gives 500 MB.

Be aware that you will get nagging emails if you do not use the phone after a couple of months, and the threat of ceasing the number if there is no usage by a certain date.
They also send out surveys asking about your usage on the phone.
I only know this as I have a gifgaf sim in a backup mobile at my mothers that is for emergency use only.

Just make a free call to a 0808 No. once a month.