If you have never used a contract-free SIM card before, then you are most likely spending a lot more money than you should have to on your phone bills. SIM only deals come highly recommended for more reasons than one, but before we take a closer look at what those reasons are exactly, it is also important to understand why carrier contracts make us spend more than we should have to.
Main Drawbacks of a Carrier Contract
Contract-bound SIMs are costlier than SIM only deals, not to mention the fact that they are also quite restrictive for the customers who use them. The superiority of SIM only deals over regular carrier-contracts is the main reason why they are often preferable over carrier contracts. The following points should help in explaining why that’s true:
- Customers must pay for a smartphone which comes with the new SIM
- The minimum billed amount stays constant for the contract’s entire duration
- Even the least expensive contracts often charge more than mid-high tier SIM only deals
- Despite costing more than independent SIM cards, contracted SIMs offer less talk time, text messages and data
- The customer cannot use an unlocked phone, as the SIMs only work with phones provided by the carrier itself
- As a result, customers cannot change their network, even if the coverage is not good enough near their home/office
To conclude, it’s safe to state that not only are contract SIM cards more expensive than SIM only deals, but they also offer less for more! Even Brits who do not care as much about the price difference may find the fact that they can only buy smartphones from their carrier, restrictive and inconvenient.
Now that readers have a decent idea regarding the drawbacks of contract-only SIM cards, it’s time to go through the five main reasons that make SIM only plans worth considering for just about anyone.
Reason 1: Freedom of Choice
No single carrier has access to every smartphone model that’s out there. This is to be expected, given that the different carriers are constantly competing with each other by partnering up with different OEMs. For the customers though, this means that they would be restricted to only choosing between the models that their carriers have on offer. If a customer tries to switch phones, the SIM card simply won’t work, unless the phone was registered and provided by the same carrier. Sim only deals do not come with any such bindings at all, so the customer is free to use whichever smartphone model that they wish to. This includes:
- Any carrier unlocked smartphone that has been officially launched in the UK
- Any SIM free smartphone that was never locked by a carrier
- Smartphones that were not officially launched in the UK, but have the necessary antennas to catch 4G and voice call/text networks
Virtually any smartphone that has not been specifically locked by the carrier or the manufacturer will work flawlessly with these independent SIM cards. It’s a fact that naturally expands the customers’ options to choose between nearly every smartphone that’s available in the UK.
Reason 2: Capped to Zero
Post-paid connections and excessive bills go hand-in-hand, which is why there are so many complaints lodged against their carriers every year. In most cases, it is not a billing error that leads to unreasonably high bills, but the carrier’s decision to not cap their customer’s limits. For example, it is quite easy to go past your maximum data limit when there is no cap set on that limit. The same goes for voice calls, international calls and even SMSs.
Such a problem can never happen with SIM-only deals, given that they are always capped at zero. Whenever a customer reaches their plan’s limit, the particular service will be closed to them, unless they themselves decide to lift those limits and gain access back to the facility. If you are not even given the option to overspend accidentally, you will never have to worry about paying surprisingly high utility bills.
Reason 3: Freedom to Change or Cancel at Any Time
SIM cards without a contract allow customers complete flexibility to change or cancel the present plan at any time that they wish to do so. You can practically leave a contract-free connection after just one month of usage, without any financial repercussions. Independent SIM plans last for 30-days and would not get automatically renewed, provided that the customer has cancelled the plan at any time during the previous 30 days. If someone is having an expensive month, they can choose to downscale and go for a cheaper SIM-only plan for the next few months, or for as long as they wish to.
Reason 4: Better Deals
So far, we have discussed some of the primary reasons that make SIM-only plans a better option, but that does not mean you should choose just any SIM plan that is offered to you. Compare SIM-only deals and find which one provides the best value for money to you. Given that people’s needs from their cellular plans vary a lot, just check out Lebara SIM plans on their website and decide which of them would suit your budget and needs the best. Their least expensive plan starts at just £5/month, but still includes 1000 UK minutes, 1000 UK texts, 100 minutes of international calls, and 2 gigabytes of high-speed 4G data from Vodafone for 30 days.
In case you are looking for the absolute best SIM-only deals, then the Lebara Unlimited Plan comes highly recommended. At only £35 per month, all caps are lifted from local calls, international calls, texts and even data consumption. They also have a long list of other plans in between these two, of course, so check out the details and choose one that best suits your needs. If you don’t like the experience, feel free to try a different plan or cancel the connection at any time.
Reason 5: Data Sharing
In case there are others in your family who can benefit from using your cellular plan’s data, independent SIM plans allow that as well. Turn on the mobile hotspot/tethering feature on your smartphone, and share data with everyone who has your pre-set Wi-Fi password to access it. However, it is important that you don’t forget to check and compare SIM-only deals from the provider for ensuring that they do allow tethering. If the provider has restricted data sharing from the SIM, find one that does not have such restrictions. When combined with a high or unlimited data limit, data sharing can make cellular plans even cheaper to afford for students. In case everyone in the room is using the data, they should also chip in to share some of the expenses as well.
Aside from sharing the data with others in your family or hostel room, you will find data sharing to be particularly useful for personal use as well. There would be no need to pay for separate connections when you can simply turn your smartphone into a Wi-Fi router, connecting every smart device in the room to the internet.
As you can see, there are many reasons why a SIM-only deal makes more sense than your current contract. If you’re looking for a better deal, check out your options and see if they make sense for you.
