Travelling to England - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Kent · 2012-08-30, 08:57 PM

I have a Samsung SII (with Bell) which has been unlocked. In the US, I have been buying a sim card from TMobile which only gives me 3g access. Is there a provider in England I can use to get a prepaid service which will give me 4g or HSPA+ service? I'm not so interested in telephone minutes as I am interested in data access (for email, GPS access etc.)

I have looked at the services provided by Vodaphone, O2 etc but really don't understand if they will work with my phone. I tried searching for an answer in this forum but really couldn't find a definitive answer.

TorontoColin · 2012-08-30, 10:12 PM

Any carrier who will sell you a SIM card in the UK should work fine with your phone.

timlocke · 2012-08-31, 05:53 AM

I don't think there is any 4g service in the UK yet and even when it appears ( 2013-2014) it will on a different band to any 4g in NA.

Kent · 2012-09-30, 01:22 PM

For the record, I have just returned from England. I found a store in London which sold me a sim card on the 3 network and for 35 pounds, I got 300 minutes air time, 3000 texts and unlimited data. I believe this was broken down at 10 pounds for the sim card, 10 pounds for the basic program and 15 pounds for the "All you can eat" data program. Coverage was good although I did find a couple of dead zones in Cornwall, but I think all networks suffer the same problem there.

I performed a speed test while I was there and recorded 7,469 kbps down and 2,393 kbps up at 67 ms ping. For sake of comparison, I just did another test and recorded 3,780 down and 1,547 up with Bell.

I'm wishing I could use the 3 network here!

HarmsWay · 2012-10-01, 12:16 PM

I've done 3's iPad 1GB sim for £10 on a few trips. In and out of the store in a couple minutes with a functioning 3G iPad. No credit card required. They don't even want to know my name. They have it good over there. Coverage was very good everywhere I tried and IIRC it included access to their WiFi hotspots.

99semaj · 2012-10-01, 02:32 PM

I'm presently in Rzeszów, Poland and for 20z ($6.15 CAD) I got a new SIM with 1 GB of data and 60 minutes talk time on their HSPA network. Paid cash, no names asked.

Hell, Bell wants $15 just for the SIM!!! What a rip.

Wayne · 2012-10-01, 05:57 PM

I have also used a 3 PayGo microSIM in my iPad and it was very convenient. The only issue is that you can't top-up the plan online with your credit card the next time you are back in the UK as you need a UK based credit card to do so. However I think you can buy a £10 top-up number with cash at a shop and then use that code online to top-up through 3's web portal, which works over 3G even if your data plan has expired.

Regarding LTE...
The UK will be getting LTE service shortly which will be offered by Everything Everywhere (EE) which is a JV of Orange (France Telecom) and T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom). The other main providers, including O2, 3 and Vodafone, will not have LTE networks for quite a while yet as they have to buy spectrum in an upcoming auction.

When T-Mo and Orange merged their networks in the UK it freed up some spectrum for them to use for LTE. The regulator, Ofcom, allowed them to use it to offer 4G which left the other guys royally pissed as they have been put at a competitive disadvantage.

So the moral of the story is that if you want LTE speeds in the UK then you will have to go to an Orange or T-Mo shop.

2012-08-30, 08:57 PM	#1
Kent Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: North Vancouver, BC Posts: 70	Travelling to England I have a Samsung SII (with Bell) which has been unlocked. In the US, I have been buying a sim card from TMobile which only gives me 3g access. Is there a provider in England I can use to get a prepaid service which will give me 4g or HSPA+ service? I'm not so interested in telephone minutes as I am interested in data access (for email, GPS access etc.) I have looked at the services provided by Vodaphone, O2 etc but really don't understand if they will work with my phone. I tried searching for an answer in this forum but really couldn't find a definitive answer.

2012-08-30, 10:12 PM	#2
TorontoColin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Wind Mobile, Rogers Cable, Teksavvy Extreme Cable Posts: 3,229	Any carrier who will sell you a SIM card in the UK should work fine with your phone. __________________ Rules of the Forum \| DHC Help Desk DHC now supports Tapatalk for mobile devices!

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2012-08-31, 05:53 AM	#3
timlocke Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Guelph Posts: 549	I don't think there is any 4g service in the UK yet and even when it appears ( 2013-2014) it will on a different band to any 4g in NA.

2012-09-30, 01:22 PM	#4
Kent Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: North Vancouver, BC Posts: 70	For the record, I have just returned from England. I found a store in London which sold me a sim card on the 3 network and for 35 pounds, I got 300 minutes air time, 3000 texts and unlimited data. I believe this was broken down at 10 pounds for the sim card, 10 pounds for the basic program and 15 pounds for the "All you can eat" data program. Coverage was good although I did find a couple of dead zones in Cornwall, but I think all networks suffer the same problem there. I performed a speed test while I was there and recorded 7,469 kbps down and 2,393 kbps up at 67 ms ping. For sake of comparison, I just did another test and recorded 3,780 down and 1,547 up with Bell. I'm wishing I could use the 3 network here!

2012-10-01, 12:16 PM	#5
HarmsWay Rookie Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 29	I've done 3's iPad 1GB sim for £10 on a few trips. In and out of the store in a couple minutes with a functioning 3G iPad. No credit card required. They don't even want to know my name. They have it good over there. Coverage was very good everywhere I tried and IIRC it included access to their WiFi hotspots.

2012-10-01, 02:32 PM	#6
99semaj Veteran Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: /dev/null Posts: 2,666	I'm presently in Rzeszów, Poland and for 20z ($6.15 CAD) I got a new SIM with 1 GB of data and 60 minutes talk time on their HSPA network. Paid cash, no names asked. Hell, Bell wants $15 just for the SIM!!! What a rip.

2012-10-01, 05:57 PM	#7
Wayne Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Scarboro Posts: 5,568	I have also used a 3 PayGo microSIM in my iPad and it was very convenient. The only issue is that you can't top-up the plan online with your credit card the next time you are back in the UK as you need a UK based credit card to do so. However I think you can buy a £10 top-up number with cash at a shop and then use that code online to top-up through 3's web portal, which works over 3G even if your data plan has expired. Regarding LTE... The UK will be getting LTE service shortly which will be offered by Everything Everywhere (EE) which is a JV of Orange (France Telecom) and T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom). The other main providers, including O2, 3 and Vodafone, will not have LTE networks for quite a while yet as they have to buy spectrum in an upcoming auction. When T-Mo and Orange merged their networks in the UK it freed up some spectrum for them to use for LTE. The regulator, Ofcom, allowed them to use it to offer 4G which left the other guys royally pissed as they have been put at a competitive disadvantage. So the moral of the story is that if you want LTE speeds in the UK then you will have to go to an Orange or T-Mo shop.