4G has all but arrived here in the uk, even if it is just for the major metropolitan areas for now. All of the UK mobile carriers have rolled out 4G apart from Three who will be delivering their offerings in December. So the question is, what Sim only deal gives you the best value for money sim for you iPhone. We’ve done the work and compared the deals out there for you.
4G Sim Buying Advice.
As with all sim and mobile deals it’s important to look at the coverage not only where you live but where you work, commute to and all those other sorts of areas. Make a mental note of where you find yourself using your phone on a somewhat regular basis.
Beware Of Those Extra’s
Vodaphone state “Our Red 4G-ready plans come with either 6 or 24 months’ access to Sky Sports Mobile TV or Spotify Premium, plus double our standard UK internet.” It’s not quite clear if that comes out of your standard allowance or if it’s a free add-on. Streaming stations like Spotify will soon eat through your data allowance as well.
| Minutes | Texts | Data | Months | Price per month | Total contract cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 5000 | 500mb | 12 | £6.90 | £82.80 |
| 600 | 5000 | 1GB | 12 | £9.90 | £118.80 |
| 200 | 5000 | Unlimited* | 1 | £12.90 | £12.90 |
| 600 | 5000 | 1GB | 1 | £12.90 | £12.90 |
| 2000+5000 3-3 | 5000 | Unlimited + tethering* | 12 | £15.00 | £180.00 |
| 2000+5000 3-3 | 5000 | Unlimited + tethering* | 1 | £18.00 | £18.00 |
Three will launch 4G services in December 2013. Three will not be charging a premium for 4G unlike other operators. Three currently have 0% 4G coverage, Will launch in over 50 cities by the end of 2014.
Three have listed the iPhone 5c and 5s ready for ordering on their website. The best thing about Three is that ALL standard packages will get a 4G up-date as long as your phone supports 4G. So you can get unlimited data and tethering on three
EE 4G Sim Deals
The first network in the UK to bring 4G to most major metropolitan areas. EE has the best 3G coverage out of all the networks and for the moment the most 4G coverage available.
| Minutes | Texts | Data | Months | Price per month | Total contract cost |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 500mb | 12 | £21.00 | £252.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | 12 | £26.00 | £312.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | 12 | £31.00 | £372.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 5GB | 12 | £36.00 | £432.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | 12 | £41.00 | £492.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | 12 | £61.00 | £732.00 |
Vodaphone 4G Sim Only Deals
| Minutes | Texts | Data | Months | Price per month | Total contract cost |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 2GB | 12 | £26.00 | £312.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | 12 | £31.00 | £372.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | 12 | £36.00 | £432.00 |
O2 Sim Only 4G
| Minutes | Texts | Data | Months | Price per month | Total contract cost |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | 12 | £26.00 | £312.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 5GB | 12 | £31.00 | £372.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | 12 | £36.00 | £432.00 |
Why doesn’t the iPhone 5/5c/5s work on O2 or Vodafone 4G?
“It’s purely down to the hardware that the iPhone 5 uses. In the UK each network uses a certain frequency to broadcast a 4G signal. The iPhone 5 hardware only supports one frequency (1800Mhz). And there are three frequencies being used in the UK (800Mhz, 1800Mhz, 2600Mhz)”
Think of 4G in the UK like a motorway.
3 lanes, 3 frequencies
Lane 1= 800Mhz
Lane 2= 1800Mhz
Lane 3= 2600Mhz
Vodafone uses lane 1 and 3 for their 4G network, O2 use Lane 1, Three use Lane 1 and 2 and EE use all 3 lanes.
The iPhone 5 only works on lane 2 frequency (1800Mhz) and so won’t work on Vodafone or O2 because they don’t have access to this frequency. The iPhone 5 doesn’t support the other two frequencies/lanes due to the fact it came out last year before the UK had 4G.
All new 4G phones in the UK should work on all networks and frequencies. The New iPhone should work on both O2 and Vodafone”
– test
| Three.co.uk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes | Texts | Data | Months | Price per month | Total contract cost |
| 200 | 5000 | 500mb | 12 | £6.90 | £82.80 |
| 600 | 5000 | 1GB | 12 | £9.90 | £118.80 |
| 200 | 5000 | Unlimited* | 1 | £12.90 | £12.90 |
| 600 | 5000 | 1GB | 1 | £12.90 | £12.90 |
| 2000 5000 3 to 3 |
5000 | Unlimited + tethering* | 12 | £15.00 | £180.00 |
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