Lebara (fair useage §h!t£)

[Carpmart]

The 100GB is better value, if I used that much it's worth having. 20 is easily enough for me

I remember when we first used to go to Benidorm for 10 weeks I'd buy a 12GB data card and have plenty left at the end

Times have changed! You wouldn’t have need to book your stay in Beni before either!

 

[PaulW2]

I understand the desire to get the cheapest deal possible, but there has to be a point where chasing a couple of quid saving vs something that works without falling foul of fair usage, even if it cost a few quid more, is the better approach?

We left the UK at the start of Sept ‘23, flew home for 20 days for Christmas (didn’t connect to wifi once, just used mobile data whilst back) and we are away in Europe until June (currently in month six of roaming) and we have really good 5G service on a Popit subscription…

I accept it’s not the cheapest way and it’s a phone data not a data plan per se, but it’s been perfect and way more convenient than ‘SIM juggling’ to avoid roaming data T’s and C’s.

I was a bit stung by Popit.

Tried to put it on the £1 a month retainer thing while in the UK and they told me I hadn't used it sufficiently in the UK to justify this. So had to switch it on and use it until the thing went green.

 

[SpeedyDux]

I wouldn't know what to do with all that roaming data. Abroad I use about 5GB a month.

 

[Carpmart]

I was a bit stung by Popit.

Tried to put it on the £1 a month retainer thing while in the UK and they told me I hadn't used it sufficiently in the UK to justify this. So had to switch it on and use it until the thing went green.

 

[PaulW2]

I was a bit stung by Popit.

Tried to put it on the £1 a month retainer thing while in the UK and they told me I hadn't used it sufficiently in the UK to justify this. So had to switch it on and use it until the thing went green.

But was sufficiently stung by Vodafone in my phone to have left them. Sudden advice, while abroad, that I've now used all my data and that it will cost me a body part per Gb thereafter. On a plan I've had since pre-Brexit where they repeatedly promised me that the rules wouldn't change post Brexit and that it would be ok. But they always have wiggle room, always have a way of sneaking things past you.

As ever, Tom Waits is correct. The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.

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[Carpmart]

But was sufficiently stung by Vodafone in my phone to have left them. Sudden advice, while abroad, that I've now used all my data and that it will cost me a body part per Gb thereafter. On a plan I've had since pre-Brexit where they promised high and low that the rules wouldn't change post Brexit.

So Popit was the lesser of the two evils then!

 

[PaulW2]

So Popit was the lesser of the two evils then!

A plague on all their houses!

 

[Stonemags76]

I stuck with Tiekom for our last trip - more expensive but faultless! 400gb in Spain & 200 gb everywhere else for €43 . Help is always just an email away, & speeds couldn’t be faulted!

 

[Orion]

Hi

This is what I have discovered so far about UK SIM cards that are best for EU travel.

Hope this is helpful and any additions or corrections would be most welcome.

I have listed them in what I consider best first order:

HelloIQ

IQ Mobile - Intelligent Mobile Services for Personal and Business Life

IQ Mobile is the intelligent mobile network for Personal and Business life, with the UK's best 5G experience and over 60% UK Population Coverage on 5G.

helloiq.co.uk

£20/year admin charge, then you purchase data as you need it. 100Gbytes is £20 and lasts for 30 days this can be used in UK and Europe. So you only pay when you need data for the month.

They say they “do not have a "Fair use policy" when abroad which is pretty unique” although one is mentioned in their terms and conditions it is missing from the website.

It is based in EE network in the UK, it is not clear what networks are available when in EU I will need to test this.

Popit

Plans - Popit

Plans Check out our packages all come with 5G at no extra cost! 0GB £ 6 per month Unlimited Calls & Text 0GB No Data Unlimited Calls & Texts VoLTE Wifi Calling 30 Day Auto Renewal Bring your own number Purchase 1GB £ 8 per month Unlimited Calls & Texts 1GB Unlimited Calls & Texts

www.popitmobile.co.uk

100Gbytes/month for £25 with the key feature that you can use all of it while roaming in EU.

The only catches I can see are:
1) Roaming duration of up to maximum of 6 months at a time
2) It says in the legal contract : "To cancel the contract, you must ensure the following conditions are met: a) UK Data Usage: You must use Data in the UK to meet your Roaming Compliance. b) Roaming Compliance: Your roaming usage is shown in your subscription, and this must be 100% and in green."
This second point will need testing, but it seems that if you don't use enough data in the UK you cant cancel until you have. But not sure how onerous this is.

Must be careful not to go over 100G it’s £5/Gbyte after monthly allowance is used up.

02
Unlimited in UK for £20/month
O2 also seems to have a more relaxed roaming "fair use policy". When in France last year I used at least 110Gbytes of data and did not get charged extra for it - but it does not state what the rules are in their terms and conditions.

iD Mobile
Unlimited in UK for £16
They resell Three network for less than Three direct.
30Gbyte/month when roaming in EU then £1.5/Gbyte as a data add up to limit of £25/month. Must be careful as over charge is £3/Gbyte.

Vodafone UK
I get an unlimited UK data for £13.75 on my business account.
EU roaming is included in this but is limited to 25Gbytes/month.

Smarty
25G roaming in EU and £1/Gbyte after that.

Others
Most UK networks have a "fair use policy" that limits the amount of data (usually 25Gbytes/month) you can use while in the EU even if you have unlimited data in the UK.

Useful list of SIMs

2024 SIM Cards - Roaming Roundup - Motorhome WiFi

Motorhome WiFi – Roaming Roundup Updated October 2024 including roaming charges and fair usage policies As part of the ongoing service we offer to our customers, we are on hand to advise you of the best value data plans for use in the UK and abroad. We’ve condensed the top plans, particularly...

www.motorhomewifi.com

There’s also RWG Mobile with their ‘Big Data’ 200gb phone bundle for £20 that will work in a router. It reduces to 100gb data in the EU but does work there, like their dedicated data SIMs.

 

[Rockpool]

Agree we were with them and discovered the same problem when we were in France for 3 months. So no longer with them Found that we were better of just buying a Regola sim from E.Lecterc when we arrive in France and just pop it into our mifi unit and this covers all our data.

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[PaulandChrissy]

I don’t get why people aren’t using Popit?

My Poppit is £25/month for 100gb with no roaming or fair usage clauses. Speeds are OK.
Thinking of StarLink. It’s just that £85/month that’s the killer.

 

[Oldrat]

Excellent thread, good to have the options in one place.

I’m headed down to Croatia, and thinking of Popit or Lebara. Do they have as good coverage there?

Thanks

 

[Fazerstorm]

I have an o2 sim and a lebara sim in my Samsung galaxy s22 plus. Takes 2 seconds to swap between. Certainly handy having 2 sim slots, as the signal in North Devon is so bad in places, I am constantly swapping. Good tip about using the lebara sim before going abroad. Thanks.

 

[zac]

My Poppit is £25/month for 100gb with no roaming or fair usage clauses. Speeds are OK.
Thinking of StarLink. It’s just that £85/month that’s the killer.

You can't really argue at that price, I always say if it works why change.
Don't get me wrong I love the starlink but it's massive amount of money per month that's for sure.

 

[Kups]

You can't really argue at that price, I always say if it works why change.
Don't get me wrong I love the starlink but it's massive amount of money per month that's for sure.

I also moved to Popit recently, excellent deal. I've got a £99 Starlink kit that I use for longer non UK stays, there's a balance point where the £85 monthly roaming charge becomes worth it.

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[Carpmart]

My Poppit is £25/month for 100gb with no roaming or fair usage clauses. Speeds are OK.
Thinking of StarLink. It’s just that £85/month that’s the killer.

We don’t use our Popit for data, just ‘phone data’ when we have Starlink off and or are away from the Motorhome, so we (the wife and I) are on £18 30gb plans and could probably both swap to 10Gb quite easily…

The 5G coverage at our overwinter spot has been great on the Popit SIM.

As for Starlink, it’s a game changer and despite the ‘lumpy’ cost, it’s actually pretty good VFM for us Paul!

 

[slowdriver]

I don’t get why people aren’t using Popit?

Because, when I moved to them this time last year they promised WiFi calling- which I need because where I live has v poor or no mobile signal indoors, but it never materialised. So moved to smarty

 

[zac]

I also moved to Popit recently, excellent deal. I've got a £99 Starlink kit that I use for longer non UK stays, there's a balance point where the £85 monthly roaming charge becomes worth it

Same as myself really, would only activate the starlink if abroad and longer than a couple weeks. Don't need it in the UK as never failed to get a signal and have plenty of data to use and have external 4G/5G antenna.
Starlink suits a purpose but for me it's something I will only use maybe a couple times a year due to work commitments. Being able to stop and start when needed was the biggest buying point oh and of course the £99 deal

 

[alasdairandannie]

Never had a problem before now but data stopped working.
I am a very low usage customer never ever getting close to data limit.

First " your phone settings are wrong"
Then after email to them: "you have used more data than you have used in the UK over the last 120 days you need to now pay per call, text and Mb".

We had the same issue with Popit last year. I understand their point but they wouldn't define what 'more data' meant. Their position was that it isn't a 'roaming only' SIM. We have stuck with them and used a lump of data before and after travelling to Europe that seemed to be enough to go onto their £1 per month freeze deal until we next travel.

 

[kev54]

So a 120 day period must elapse before they can say you've definitely used more data abroad, by which time we'll be back home

In our experience, the comparison kicked in around 65 -ish roaming as we had hardly used any date in the UK - because we have good wifi at home. You need to turn off wifi and run videos on data (you don’t have to watch them!!)

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[kev54]

. Probably switch WiFi off and play the radio app for a week. What a faff.

You’ll never use much data with the radio - you need to play videos (or download and ditch) - you don’t need to watch or listen to them!

 

[Lenny HB]

Might change to ID Mobile before we go away they have a 30GB cap on roaming.

View attachment 861875

Other operators data caps:
Giffgaff 5GB
Talkmobile 5GB
Smarty 12GB
Lyca 12GB
Lebara 15GB

ID Mobile are a Carphone Warehouse brand, if you get the sim from Carphone Warehouse you often get twice the data, can be useful when using the van in the UK, unfortunately roaming still 30gb.

 

[Lenny HB]

It's not hard to burn through 5gb of data a month

More like 2 to 3 days when roaming.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Has anyone used Maya mobile? It's an esim so you keep your existing plan and sim card. You buy a maya data plan, then when you get to the destination country you activate it.

You need a compatible phone, I think most are now looking at the list.

Maya Mobile - eSIM vs Physical SIM - How Does an eSIM Work?

See how an eSIM works with no physical SIM card. Enjoy multiple plans, instant activation, and total flexibility with an eSIM plan.

maya.net

 

[Richard n Ann]

You’ll never use much data with the radio - you need to play videos (or download and ditch) - you don’t need to watch or listen to them!

Could I leave a YouTube video playing? Or does it only download once?

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[kev54]

Could I leave a YouTube video playing? Or does it only download once?

I put on a series on iPlayer - they keep running. Roughly 1GB for an hour of video. Keep the phone plugged in otherwise the battery dies. If you download you might have capacity problems, and you’ll need to delete.

 

[Lenny HB]

You’ll never use much data with the radio - you need to play videos (or download and ditch) - you don’t need to watch or listen to them!

Radio uses about 50-55mb/hour so about 1.2gb/24 hours, 35gb/month.

 

[GoldenVision]

We had the same issue with Popit last year. I understand their point but they wouldn't define what 'more data' meant. Their position was that it isn't a 'roaming only' SIM. We have stuck with them and used a lump of data before and after travelling to Europe that seemed to be enough to go onto their £1 per month freeze deal until we next travel.

We are in Portugal and Spain and are into our second month of 100 Gb for £25 with Popit, and so far, so good. It's been excellent everywhere. Hopefully it will renew for our third month as well.

We used it before leaving the UK, only for a short time, but that was sufficient to "go green" so we could use it in the EU.

I understand on our return we will have to use the SIM in the UK until it goes green again. But does anybody have any experience of how much data / how long we will need to use the SIM back home after 3 months use in the EU before we can freeze it at £1 per month?

 

[Dobby 2]

RWG Mobile 100 GB for EU roaming

 

[jongood]

Is £6 a month more... Every month.. for 15Gb less data.
Yes suited for roaming but let's face it, I'm in the UK the vast majority of the time so to pay a premium up front for roaming I'm not using isn't for me.

Imo £6/month is better than spending an hour at the Spanish/French Vodafone shop, and btw you can still have roaming limitations.

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