Confused About Minimum Buy-In for Meteor Data in Ireland

[ronwi]

I am going to be in Ireland for only a few days. I see that a Meteor SIM card is free.

I am primarily interested in data, for voice I can use my ekit SIM and callback.

I see here:

Pay As You Go Mobile Phone Deals and Cheap Sim Cards from Meteor

that 69 cents gets me 50MB per day, with each addition MB costing 2 cents.

Do I get this rate with a minimum top-up? Or do I have to pay more for some sort of plan?

Thanks.

[andy]

I think it will just charge that as you start to use it each day

This page is a bit clearer

Pay As You Go Mobile Internet Pricing with Meteor mobile

There is an option to have 250 MB free on top-up by €20, but that's probably more than you need to add

Depending on how many days you're there, the other networks also have some bundles, like €5 for 500 MB on 3, or €10 for 700 MB on O2

[ronwi]

I also looked into Tesco Mobile, which now uses 3G data.

The attraction is that they have very cheap calls to the US - 2 cents per minute, within Ireland 10 cents per minute (the official rate is 20 cents, but they double your top-up for Irish calls):

Pay as You Go Price Plans | Mobile Phone Call Charges :: Tesco Mobile Ireland

The problem with them is that while they have a decently priced data bundles, when you use up the bundle rather than charging 2 cents per MB as does Meteor they charge 79 cents per MB!

Mobile Phone Bundles | Mobile Phone Deals :: Tesco Mobile Ireland

Other Mobile Phone Charges :: Tesco Mobile Ireland

Originally Posted by andy

I think it will just charge that as you start to use it each day

This page is a bit clearer

Pay As You Go Mobile Internet Pricing with Meteor mobile

There is an option to have 250 MB free on top-up by €20, but that's probably more than you need to add

Depending on how many days you're there, the other networks also have some bundles, like €5 for 500 MB on 3, or €10 for 700 MB on O2

[drama queen]

Originally Posted by ronwi

I also looked into Tesco Mobile, which now uses 3G data.

The attraction is that they have very cheap calls to the US - 2 cents per minute, within Ireland 10 cents per minute (the official rate is 20 cents, but they double your top-up for Irish calls):

Pay as You Go Price Plans | Mobile Phone Call Charges :: Tesco Mobile Ireland

The problem with them is that while they have a decently priced data bundles, when you use up the bundle rather than charging 2 cents per MB as does Meteor they charge 79 cents per MB!

Mobile Phone Bundles | Mobile Phone Deals :: Tesco Mobile Ireland

Other Mobile Phone Charges :: Tesco Mobile Ireland

Be careful with Tesco Mobile. They are an MVNO on the O2 network, and some services have been deliberately dumbed down to differentiate from the host network service. For example they don't offer 3G HSPA data speeds. There are also many reports of them not interconnecting with other networks for voice and text.

Meteor generally have the fastest data network in the areas where it is available. Meteor are also interesting in that they now offer "free voice roaming" in Europe. If you are planning on travelling anywhere else in Europe after you leave Ireland, the Meteor SIM will give you free incoming voice calls. You will pay for outgoing calls at standard Irish out-of-bundle rates.

[ronwi]

The free voice roaming is interesting - the dedicated roaming SIMs have free incoming calls, but the caller must call an expensive number in the IOM or some other expensive +44 number.

I travel with two phones - a smart phone, and a non-smart GSM phone. I think I will buy a Tesco SIM for voice, and have a free Meteor SIM posted to my hotel (for data.) However, as I do like to experiment, I will test the Tesco SIM in the smart phone and see how it performs.

Originally Posted by drama queen

Be careful with Tesco Mobile. They are an MVNO on the O2 network, and some services have been deliberately dumbed down to differentiate from the host network service. For example they don't offer 3G HSPA data speeds. There are also many reports of them not interconnecting with other networks for voice and text.

Meteor generally have the fastest data network in the areas where it is available. Meteor are also interesting in that they now offer "free voice roaming" in Europe. If you are planning on travelling anywhere else in Europe after you leave Ireland, the Meteor SIM will give you free incoming voice calls. You will pay for outgoing calls at standard Irish out-of-bundle rates.

[drama queen]

Originally Posted by ronwi

The free voice roaming is interesting - the dedicated roaming SIMs have free incoming calls, but the caller must call an expensive number in the IOM or some other expensive +44 number.

I travel with two phones - a smart phone, and a non-smart GSM phone. I think I will buy a Tesco SIM for voice, and have a free Meteor SIM posted to my hotel (for data.) However, as I do like to experiment, I will test the Tesco SIM in the smart phone and see how it performs.

In general, calling all terminating mobile numbers in Europe will cost you significantly more than calling landline numbers. If you call an Irish Meteor or Tesco Mobile number from US or elsewhere, it is likely to be more expensive than calling an Irish landline number. Probably similar to calling a UK mobile. Hence, buying an Irish SIM may not save a lot for your callers. It does mean that you don't have to worry about roaming charges for incoming calls on your own bill, however.

[ronwi]

I understand that mobile numbers are more expensive to call. My point was that the roaming SIMS frequently have mobile numbers in special prefixes in the UK that are more expensive to call than ordinary UK Mobile numbers.

Originally Posted by drama queen

In general, calling all terminating mobile numbers in Europe will cost you significantly more than calling landline numbers. If you call an Irish Meteor or Tesco Mobile number from US or elsewhere, it is likely to be more expensive than calling an Irish landline number. Probably similar to calling a UK mobile. Hence, buying an Irish SIM may not save a lot for your callers. It does mean that you don't have to worry about roaming charges for incoming calls on your own bill, however.