Best UK network for ringing Irish numbers

StudentC

Hi

Apologies if this is something which comes up all the time - I've done a search and can't find exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm moving to the UK and trying to work out what phone company to go with. Two questions

1) Can anybody recommend which company is best value for ringing Irish numbers (mobile and landline). I've had a look around the websites of the main companies, but might be missing some offers.

2) Several of the companies won't give me a bill contract as I haven't been lving in the UK for a certain number of years. Any suggestions which companies are more relaxed about this?

At the moment I'm toying between sim only packages (for my current non-smartphone), or getting a smartphone package.

Thanks for any suggestions to get me started!

questionmark?

Can I suggest trying http://www.viber.com/ it wont be any good for calling landlines but will sort you out for many of your friends at home that have smart phones. You can also call landlines from Skype for a fraction of the price that any mobile phone provider can offer.

Most companies offer bundles on sending texts to foreign numbers on a pay as you go basis. Head into a carphone warehouse, ignore the hard sell and find out all the info before making a decision.

StudentC

Thanks for that. Yep, planning to Skype but that requires a smartphone (which I don't currently have), and if none of the companies will give me a contract because of the residency thing then that starts to get trickier.

but will definitley look into it, and thanks for the Viber suggestion.

Jimoslimos

Think O2 in the UK do a bolt-on with their Pay as you go packages that allow you to call Ireland at 1p a minute.

Not sure about the others, I'm sure they all do something similar.

pablomakaveli

I was given a free o2 simcard when coming into stansted airport a couple of months ago.

I can ring landlines in ireland for 1p a minute and irish mobiles for 10p a minute with this simcard so it might be what your looking for. Just ask about the international calls sim. I use that simcard to call home and have another one for day to day use in the uk.

As for getting a phone on contract i had the same problem. They told me however that if i could get a friend or relative who lives in the uk to get a contract phone in there name but paid from my bank account it would be possible to switch to my name after a month.

Marcusm

Convert your Irish number to a PAYG and keep it as well. Most Irish mobile companies will allow free roaming in the UK meaning no charge to receive calls and cheap for your friend/family at home to call you. Also some do connection fee deals for making calls - eg on my Irish Vodafone I can call Ireland for 79c irrespective of the call length. Handy for the longer calls. Obviously you'll need 2 phones.

EuskalHerria

What I done for the first few months of being here was use my irish 3 sim card. I topped it up with €20, received €32 in credit including free txts and calls to irish numbers with unlimited Data.

When your on 3, if your connected to 3 in the UK you don't get charged any more than being at home. So I was using my iPhone with an irish sim to txt my friends and family for free, ring them if needed at the same as home price and also at weekends I could ring home for free thanks to the offer they had at the time.
Also as I had no broadband, I could tether with my phone onto my laptop so It was a lot for what I was paying a month.

It wasnt ideal for ringing or txting UK numbers so I got a cheap phone here for a tenner as well. For ringing or txting friends and family at home though it was a steal all for a €5 a week, hard to beat.

And to top off what sounds like a bad sales pitch by 3, here in the UK they will give you a contract without 3 years of residency that T-Mobile and I think Orange look for. All you need is proof of address and a bank card, same for 02 I think.