Posted 2 days ago

2 sim plan for most data coverage ?

Hello,
Been a vodafone customer for many years and it's served me well, especially with regards to network coverage. However there are some times, when the signal is not great or non-existent completely - especially around airports. Since I have a 2-sim iphone (vodafone is on a e-sim). I was thinking of an additional payg/pay monthly data only sim as a 'backup' for times when the signal on vodafone is not great.

Iphone a feature of 'automatic mobile data switching' for dual sims...so i was planning on using that feature.

I know giffgaff use o2 - so I was thinking about getting that one.
Any other networks/providers you would recommend to compliment vodafone so I get max coverage throughout the country ?

Thank you in advance for your responses.
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  1. KodaBear's avatar
    Anywhere SIM or Anywhere eSIM would be the obvious choice if you want the absolute best, since this SIM will give access to all 4 of the UK Networks at the same time.

    I wouldn't pick a Giffgaff SIM. O2 and Vodafone tend to share a lot of their cell sites so there's a pretty big overlap with each other in terms of where there is and isn't coverage.

    If you want to get a second SIM, I would be looking at something using EE's network - Ideally with FULL access to all of EE's bands. Band 20 (800MHz isn't accessible on some of the cheaper piggyback brands that run on EE). That would give you the best chance at having coverage everywhere. Especially now that EE have the contract to run the UK Emergency services network there's a big push to get rid of the blackspots.
  2. Friday-Ubaydah's avatar
    (1) Try Spusu, an Austrian cellular provider that recently started operating in the UK, piggybacking on EE.

    Spusu are good value too. £2.90 per month for unlimited calls and SMS, with 1 GB data allowance.

    spusu.co.uk/spu…ial

    (2) Alternatively, try RWG, another MVNO that uses EE.

    A 1 year plan = £30 (equivalent to £2.50 per month) for 250 minutes, 250 SMS, 2 GB data allowance every month.


    Note:
    Whether band 20 (800 MHz) is accessible on the aforementioned EE MVNOs is unclear, though this frequency band will be available with a VoLTE-compatible plan (VoLTE is also known as 4G Calling). The phone also needs to be VoLTE compatible.

    Band 20 is used by EE for extended coverage in rural areas due to the better signal penetration of 800 MHz over higher frequencies. Whether the bandwidth in this band is limited is unclear. (edited)
    KodaBear's avatar
    RWG Definitely don't have B20. I can't say for sure about Spusu but when I briefly tried them towards the end of last year I couldn't get it to pick up such signal on my iPhone.

    For now, it's 1P Mobile, CMLink and Popit that I know of who have full network support.
  3. Robiesanta's avatar
    My wife & I have been with Lebara for a year or so. It's reasonablly cheap & works fine. It even works great on holiday in Goa. I haven't tried it in Europe so don't know what it's like their. At least that's my 2p worth. (edited)
    KodaBear's avatar
    Lebara piggybacks on Vodafone. In OP's situation they would just get the exact same signal as they already have, but with slower data speeds in busy areas. Lebara isn't going to be of much help in this case.
  4. mustoofa's avatar
    Author
    Ordered a CMLink Sim with the 18£/yr plan. going to port an existing number to it to avoid nuisance calls.
    Thank you
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