A Student’s Guide to Mobile: Mobile Contracts, Phones, Discounts and Tips
August 17th, 2010
A current student shares his top tips on university and having a sociable and productive mobile life on a student budget.
So A-Level results day has finally arrived and you finally know where you’re going for university. It’s a very exciting time and there are so many things to look forward to at university. But before the fun begins and Freshers Week arrives, there are probably several things you want to sort out first. Whilst you’re at university, you’ll want to stay in touch with the folks back home and manage your hectic social life and so you’ll want to be sure to choose the right mobile phone and tariff to go with it. This guide, written by a current student, features the top tips and the important things you need to know about your mobile phone.
Should I get a mobile contract?
Once you’ve turned 18, it becomes possible for you to get a mobile contract in your own name. Whether to get one depends very much on how you use your mobile phone. But there are several things you should be aware of.
Firstly, a mobile phone contract is a credit product. You will be credit checked before you are allowed to have one. It is incredibly important to make your contract payments on time: otherwise your credit rating could be damaged and it will affect your ability to borrow in the future. The best thing to do is to set up a direct debit so the money is automatically taken from your bank account every month.
Secondly, a 24-month mobile phone contract is for 24 months. This means you should think twice about expensive phones on expensive contracts. Maybe you’ve been drooling over the shiny new iPhone and you’re considering spending your interest-free overdraft on it. But can you really afford the £35/month contract every month for two years? Even the cheapest iPhone contract would set you back £819 over 2 years. That’s a lot of money for a student (probably enough for a year’s food bill or a lot of nights out). Trust me, having financial security and being able to afford to go out will make your university experience more enjoyable than simply having the latest gizmo.
If you’re looking at getting a mobile contract, you should look at short-term SIM-only contracts. These ultra-cheap contracts can provide you with shedloads of minutes, texts and internet – but you’ll need to provide your own phone to go with it. They also have a shorter contract length (typically 1 month or 12 months). Of particular note, T-Mobile offer 600 minutes, 500 texts and 1 free flexible booster (either unlimited texts or 1GB internet) for £15/month. If you’ve got a smartphone (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.) then make sure you’ve got a data plan to go with it. Check out our guide to the UK’s best value smartphone SIM-only tariffs for our pick of the best deals.
What phone should I get?
There isn’t really a special requirements for what phone you should have at university. You will find that you use your phone differently to at school – for example I started using my phone as a personal organiser too so a smartphone made sense. Many people find that they use Facebook to keep in touch a lot more – and hence an smartphone makes sense. Of course, you need to weigh those factors against the cost of a new smartphone and the data plan that comes with it.
If you do choose to buy a smartphone for university, shop around for the best deal (see above). You’ll typically get much better deals on Android phones (e.g. HTC Desire, HTC Wildfire, etc). Furthermore, Android has a much wider range of free applications including free sat nav so you’ll be able to do more with your phone for less.
What is the best way of staying in touch with friends and family?
One popular way of staying in touch with the folks back home is to use voice over IP applications such as Skype. Skype is a free download and allows you to make free Skype-to-Skype calls to people all over the world. You can talk for as long as you want on Skype and it won’t cost you a single penny. The disadvantage is that you both need to have Skype open at the same time for the call to connect.It is commonplace for people to use text messages, Facebook and email to arrange Skype calls in advance.
Are mobile discounts for students available?
Generally the answer is no. The mobile industry is incredibly competitive – simply look at the number of networks fighting for business by offering free Pay As You Go SIM cards. The mobile industry avoids student discounts because it is hard to police and creates a lot of overhead to manage.
If you see student discounts offered anywhere, the chances are that the original deal isn’t particularly competitive to begin with. The best mobile tariff will always beats the any tariffs offered with a student discount. Sites such as Ken’s Tech Tips will help to find the best mobile tariff for you.
Going out…
photo: marfis75
One thing I’ve noticed about uni is that a huge number of people lose, damage or have their phones stolen whilst at university. Normally this could happen at clubs, music festivals, on public transport or anywhere with large crowds of people. Another common occurrence is water damage from rain or dropping your phone into water.
The obvious piece of advice is to be careful with your belongings – not to leave them unattended and to avoid flashing your expensive phone out in public. If you’ve got an expensive phone, a good tip is to pick up a cheap SIM-free mobile phone to use when going out (e.g. the Nokia 1208 costs £24 unlocked). When you go out, switch the SIM card from your normal phone into your cheap phone. Your phone number stays the same as it is linked to the SIM card and not the phone. If you lose or damage your stuff, at least it won’t be your expensive smartphone which would cost several hundred quid to replace.
It’s important that your backup phone is either unlocked or locked to the network you normally use.
If you’re going to university in London, save the phone number for Cabwise in your address book. The Transport for London operated service will text you the number of two local, licensed minicab services whenever you need it.
What about broadband? Should I get mobile broadband?
In your first year of university, you will typically live in student halls. Halls will normally provide you with a broadband internet connection. Additionally, your university will provide you with access to on-site computer facilities with broadband internet access. So you certainly don’t need mobile broadband in your first year.
In later years, students tend to move into private sector accommodation. At this point, some students opt for mobile broadband as opposed to traditional home broadband. Personally I believe that home broadband is more cost effective especially as you share the bill amongst a household. Furthermore, home broadband is much more suitable for students in terms of download speeds and download limits.
If you travel a lot (within the UK) then you might find mobile broadband handy. But don’t let anyone tell you that it’s a student must-have and don’t get it just because your bank is offering you a student discount on it.
What other tips do you have for students?
Aside from the standard advice discussed in student magazines, fresher handbooks and student blogs (Carl has some good advice), my top tech tips for students are:
- Instead of watching TV live (and having to buy a TV license), use on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD. These services don’t require you to have a TV license. Typical cost saving: £150/year.
- Instead of buying music, use Spotify instead. The free version allows you to listen to 20 hours of music per month; whilst the £9.99 subscription version allows unlimited listening on your laptop and smartphone. For someone who would normally buy 240 tracks per year (about 20 albums), the cost saving of Spotify Premium would be £120/year.
- Use a cashback site such as TopCashback for all of your online shopping. Typical cost saving: £100/year.
- Follow our top 10 tips to cut your mobile phone bill. Typical cost saving: £180/year.
- For all of your high street shopping, use a price comparison app on your mobile phone such as ShopSavvy. This will notify you if you can get the same item for less either locally or online. Typical cost saving: £50/year.
Implementing these five tips could save you in the region of £600/year.
Summary
- If you decide a mobile contract is the right thing for you, shop around. Don’t commit to an expensive 2-year contract (so you can get the latest iPhone) lightly; it’ll cost you a lot in the long run. Instead, go for a cheaper Android alternative or a SIM-free tariff. £15/month would get you plenty of minutes and texts.
- Use services such as Skype to stay in touch with the folks at home for free.
- Don’t look for student discounts – just look for the cheapest mobile deals.
- Buy yourself a ultra-cheap second handset for music festivals and clubs.
- Avoid signing up for a mobile broadband tariff before going to uni. If you find that you need one, you can subscribe later.
Your tips and questions…
If you’ve got your questions about technology at uni or you’ve got some tips of your own, drop us a comment below. I’d love to hear from you and endeavour to respond to your comments as quickly as possible.
| About Ken | |
 | My mission is to demystify the world of mobile technology for general audiences and to communicate how mobile technology can enhance our every aspect of our daily lives. I've been maintaining the Ken's Tech Tips website since 2004. I have experience communicating mobile technology and presenting new mobile products both online and offline at various trade shows and events. If you'd like to get in touch, please drop me an e-mail. |
- How Tos & The Basics , Mobile
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