There are interesting articles on both MobileToday and TheRegister about '3' improving their pay & go attractions and freebies.
The MobileToday article is entitled "3 expands pay-as-you-go free services" and can be seen
here.
Theregister one is entitled "3 lures data dabblers" and can be seen
here.
The question: "Is '3' now the best pay & go offer ?" has to be given a qualifies "yes", I believe.
The qualifications are the network coverage where you wish to use it, and whether the package of freebies matches what you want to use. For data users it is a very clear winner.
The reason why the new new package looks exciting is that '3' are not only offering a whole collection of freebies when you topup, but there freebies last a whole 3 months rather than just a weekend, as on T-Mobile, 30 days on Vodafone, O2 or Orange, and one month on Virgin.
Significantly, there is also a new £5 topup available on '3' Pre Pay ( though it is only available online or on your mobile ).
The freebie offers of the various networks are displayed well by the table shown
here.
For just a £5 topup you get all the following:-
> 25 free texts;
> Free internet allowance of 150MB which last for 90 days ( with text to warn when allowance used );
> Free 3 to 3 calls for 90 days;
> Free voicemail;
> Free Windows Live Messenger;
> and free Skype to Skype calls ( without the need to topup ).
For larger topup amounts the freebies are the same, except that the free texts get more generous:-
£10 topup -> 300 free texts;
£15 topup -> 500 free texts;
£20 topup -> 1000 free texts;
£25+ ..... -> unlimited free texts.
Remember you have a generous 90 days to use all the freebies: they do not just last for one weekend, for 30 days, or a month as other networks currently offer.
There is one downside about which you should be aware. The new tariff offering all these goodies is called "3Pay" and it does have higher call charges than the more familiar Flat 12 tariff:
> Outside of your free allowances, calls charges are 20p / min. to any network or landline number;
> Texts cost 10 each;
> Internet access, after using your free allowance, is 30p per MB.
Full terms and conditions can be viewed
here.
