With over 500 plan options available to Irish mobile phone users, is this the time to change your provider?
With new plans launched in the market in the last year, now is a good time to reconsider your mobile phone plan.
The potential for savings is now greater than ever, with reductions in monthly bills of €25 per month. This means savings of €300 a year.
There are over 500 plan options available for Irish consumers which is a staggering amount.
The average Irish phone user makes 207 minutes of calls, sends 113 SMS messages and uses 2GB of data, according to the Irish Communications Regulator.
“While choice is good, it is very hard to pick the best option,” according to Bart Lehane (PhD) of mobile phone comparison site and app KillBiller.com.
The only way to ensure you get the best value is to know your usage and only pay for what you use, he said.
Low users could be spending as little as €12 per month, while even heavier phone users should not be spending more than €25 per month (excluding the handset costs), according to Dr Lehane.
The KillBiller app audits your usage and recommends what the best plan for you is.
It will also tell you how much headroom you have on each allowance based on your actual usage, he said.
The KillBiller app will audit your usage and recommend a plan for you based on your actual usage. Low users could be spending as little as €12 per month, while even heavy users should not be spending more than €25 per month on a SIM-only plan.
Recommended plans
Average mobile phone users who pay their bills monthly are recommended by KillBiller.com to choose iD Mobile, and opt for 250 call minutes, 250 texts, and 3GB of data at a cost of €20 a month.
With iD Mobile you get to build your own plan.
An alternative is Meteor Regular Sim Only.
For average users who prepay, the recommendation is Postmobile All In, with 20 minutes of talk, 250 texts and 3GB of data, which should cost €20 a month. Tesco Mobile €15 top-up is an alternative.
Irregular billpay users should opt for Meteor Lite Sim Only, for 100 minutes of talk, unlimited texts and 1GB of data, at a cost of €12 a month, Dr Lehane said.
For prepay irregular users, Tesco Mobile €15 top-up is the recommendation.
Heavy data users, who are on billpay, should opt for Tesco €25, 30-Day Sim Only. This gives unlimited calls and texts. Another option is to build an iD Mobile plan based on 250 call minutes a month, 250 texts, and 20 GB of data, at a cost of €23 a month.
For prepay heavy data users, the recommendation is Tesco Mobile €15 Top-up with unlimited texts and 5GB add-ons, at €20 a month.
Heavy call users, who pay monthly, can get value by opting for an iD Mobile plan with 1,000 minutes of calls, 250 texts, and 3GB of data, at a cost of €22.50 a month.
For heavy call users who prepay, the option is Tesco Mobile €15 Top-Up, with unlimited texts and 5GB of add-ons, at a cost of €20 a month.
Big texters, who pay monthly, are recommended by Dr Lehane to for Meteor Regular SIM Only. This gives 400 call minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data, at a cost of €20 a month.
The option for big texters, who prepay, is Tesco Mobile €15 Top-Up with unlimited texts and 5GB add-ons, at €20 a month.
By Charlie Weston
