ASDA Mobile Pay As You Go offers great value for light users
September 20th, 2009
ASDA Mobile is a great no-frills mobile tariff with calls for 8p a minute and texts at 4p each.
If you’re looking for a good value, no-frills PAYG mobile service with a simple price plan, it’s pretty hard to beat supermarket ASDA’s offering on price.
How much does it cost?
Calls are 8p/minute; texts are 4p each and data is 20p/MB.
How does this compare with other networks?
Calls on the major UK networks would normally cost between 12p/minute and 25p/minute. However, some networks have more complex charging schemes. For example, O2 charges 25p/minute for the first 3 minutes then 5p/minute after that.
Texts normally cost about 10p each – an absurd premium which means texting is more expensive than getting imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Data varies in price a lot between the networks. If you’re going to use a lot of data, Three might be a good choice as you get 150MB of data for free (it would cost £30 on ASDA). However, it’s pretty hard to beat 20p/MB anywhere – network O2 charges £3/MB.
What’s the network like?
ASDA mobile is a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). It uses the exact same network infrastructure as Vodafone so you should expect the reception and call quality to be the same as that of Vodafone.
Can I switch from my current mobile provider?
photo: *madalena-pestana*
Yes. If you’ve got an unlocked phone, you can insert an ASDA SIM card (47p) into it.
To transfer your number, you need to call up your current network and ask for a PAC code (see the guide on switching networks). Then give your PAC code to ASDA mobile customer services on 2732 or 0845 303 2732.
Are there any free allowances? What are the alternatives?
No. Whilst ASDA beat all of the major networks hands down on price, it does not include any free allowances. If you’re a medium-to-heavy user, you could find it’s better value to go for a more expensive tariff which has free allowances.
- O2 Text and Web offers free text and internet when you top up £15/mo.
- Orange offers free texts, Facebook, 2for1 cinema and pizza on Wednesdays
- Three’s 3Pay offers free texts, data, 3-to-3 calls, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, voicemail
About the Author: Hi! I'm Ken. I've been using mobiles for over 10 years and technology for a lot longer! I'd love to hear from you.
- Mobile , Other Networks , Pay As You Go
- Comments(3)
[...] product from Walmart in the US and UK supermarket ASDA is part of Walmart. Currently ASDA have their own PAYG mobile offering which must be the cheapest PAYG tariff in the UK. We haven’t yet seen a pay monthly contract [...]
If you buy in store – open it then and there to check for all the bits. We are missing the sim card and they are refusing to send one by post – insisting we return to the store which is a 40 mile round trip for us – so far customer service is non-existent!
Hey
This Lacman Baral from Nepal,,,comming here to meet friends,,,i am a new customer of asda network,,,i like to call my parents in nepal but i dont know the cost per minute to call them,,,when can i get the price list of calling to Nepal,,,,
regards
Laxman Baral