Edited by deleted (Mon 28-Apr-14 13:23:30)

I currently use GiffGaff. I would say that, unless you are going to regularly use the connection ie. purchase a monthly gigabag etc and chomp through most of your allowance in 30 days, then they are a more expensive option (per what pcoventry76 has already said regarding 20p for initial (up-to) 20Mb, and then 2p/MB afterwards, per day).

For example, a basic O2 simplicity "NO ALLOWANCE" SIM with no pre-paid bolt on will automatically claw £1 (and no more than this) off your balance for a single day of usage giving you up to 50MB for that day (which is cheaper). You can optionally purchase more webdaily 50MB bolt-ons (£1 a pop) on that same day to increase this in 50MB increments as needed. Monthly bolt-ons are again cheaper (they do 30 day half gig for £6 and 1 gig for £10).

The Virgin Mobile offering (again, per pcoventry76) is probably the best (£1 a day for unlimited usage) but reading up on that, they piggy-back on the EE network, and due to various complaints I've read about them, I'm not sure how reliable or good that network is. Plus I don't particularly have much time for EE (personal grievance, I won't spill the details here).

The ISP you are with (A&A) do mobile sims but its probably a bit OTT for what you are wanting. £2 a month gives you the SIM and then you literally do pay per MB, and get billed accordingly. A&A piggy-back on the 3 network, and you get a real (no carrier grade NAT antics) IPv4 address for your connection too.

If you do decide to go with GiffGaff, make sure you do not tether or use any tablet/hotspot device with a non-gigabag unlimited goodybag otherwise they will immediately block you. Unlimited goodybags are only allowed on non-tethered phones and non-tablet/hotspot devices.

Edited by deleted (Mon 28-Apr-14 14:18:25)

Edited by deleted (Mon 28-Apr-14 17:33:35)

Blimey first Ovivo and now Samba ! Oh well I'll put the 02 data sim in the mifi ! They're dropping like flies LOL

Thanks Mark

I had quickly looked at A&A data and then looked at Giff Gaff, but now on reading GiffGaff closely note that excluding Databags, after 20MB per day they charge at 20p per MB http://giffgaff.com/index/pricing which is ten times the price of A&A!

My Vodafone PAYG non-expiting contract was £15 for 1GB which lasted me well over 12 months. The biggest bite out of was when I once logged in from Greece for email and my credit dropped by about £8,00 just for the privilege!

So I will look into A&A again. For the amount of data I expect to use it for, it is a cheap option. Even the £2 per month is reasonable. (All plus VAT of course).

Mobile data is certainly a funny commodity. When you buy petrol or diesel, you don't have to give back or forfeit what you have not used at the end of the month!

Cheers!

In reply to a post by Ancient_Mariner:

after 20MB per day they charge at 20p per MB http://giffgaff.com/index/pricing which is ten times the price of A&A!

Good catch! Yes, that's damn expensive. So yeah, GG's intent is that they really want customers to use goodybags or money will be burnt. Definitely consider other options. Like I said, O2 isn't too bad with £1 maximum charge for 50MB per day. I'm currently using that in my hotspot device.

Edited by deleted (Mon 28-Apr-14 21:21:22)

Heck! The more you look the more there is to see!

I am getting tempted by my ISP's Andrews & Arnold mobile data SIM. Its £5 + VAT to purchase and data is 2p per MB + VAT. Not cheap, but as a virtual non-user - my 1GB Vodafone top-up used to last well over a year - is quite comparable. 1GB from A&A = 2000p =£20.00 + VAT whereas Vodafone charged £15 inc VAT. OK there is the £2 + VAT per month with A&A but that is not a deal breaker by any means.

My main problem is going to be signal strength. Vodafone have a 3G mast about 200 metres away; whereas at present not sure where 3 have there's (which is the network that A&A use). Whether A&A will support 4G when rolled out I don't know, but will be posting a question in the A&A's section of this forum later, since 4G will be of interest to others.

Cheers!

I just checked. My Samba sim has been disconnected so I have lost the 1.8gb credit I built up from watching adverts.