Published 27/07/2017
Here's why Vodafone's pay as you go plans are the best in the industry.
Looking for a new plan or mobile network for your phone? There's never been more options to choose from with Vodafone, Lycamobile, Tesco Mobile and Meteor (Eir) all having launched new pay as you go plans this year. Pay as you go plans are perfect for virtually everyone, not just the frugal. They offer better value by allowing for greater flexibility and giving customers greater choice. The pay as you go market has been shrinking in Ireland in the past number of years as people choose to shift to more expensive bill pay plans to subsidise the price of their new iPhone or Galaxy.
The following is a sentence I never thought would be true: Vodafone's new 'Vodafone X' pay as you go plans are the best pay as you go plans in the industry. It's a dramatic shift in Vodafone's usual philosophy of delivering expensive plans offering little calls, texts and data. With Vodafone X customers can enjoy virtually as much data as they want, a critical factor by which many younger people swear by when choosing their plan. Vodafone has managed to partner with Spotify and Sky Sports to deliver customers a unique addition to their already great plan.
A year ago I would have said Three had the best pay as you go plan. But that has changed, not only because Vodafone launched three new pay as you go plans but because Three reduced the amount of calls and data available on its pay as you go plan. Instead of improving their existing plan, Three decided to abolish key features such as unlimited data, unlimited data roaming and unlimited weekend calls. Notorious for offering All you can Eat data, Three's current pay as you go plan ironically offer less data than one of Vodafone's new pay as you go plans.
The following is a sentence I never thought would be true: Vodafone's new 'Vodafone X' pay as you go plans are the best pay as you go plans in the industry. It's a dramatic shift in Vodafone's usual philosophy of delivering expensive plans offering little calls, texts and data. With Vodafone X customers can enjoy virtually as much data as they want, a critical factor by which many younger people swear by when choosing their plan. Vodafone has managed to partner with Spotify and Sky Sports to deliver customers a unique addition to their already great plan.
A year ago I would have said Three had the best pay as you go plan. But that has changed, not only because Vodafone launched three new pay as you go plans but because Three reduced the amount of calls and data available on its pay as you go plan. Instead of improving their existing plan, Three decided to abolish key features such as unlimited data, unlimited data roaming and unlimited weekend calls. Notorious for offering All you can Eat data, Three's current pay as you go plan ironically offer less data than one of Vodafone's new pay as you go plans.
The plans: Unique, simplistic and rewarding.
With Vodafone X, Vodafone has modernised its portfolio of pay as you go plans by offering more data, calls and texts. Each plan gives customers unlimited texts to any network in Ireland and across the EU. You also get 100 minutes to any network in Ireland and across the EU on each plan. All three plans allow customers to use a modest 20GB of 4G data in Ireland and across the EU. However, as I mentioned earlier what makes these pay as you go plans unique is Vodafone's partnering with Sky Sports and Spotify. Sensibly named Vodafone X Music, customers can access 30 million songs on Spotify Premium, a service which usually costs €10 every month. So for music lovers this plan is undoubtedly the best out there. The same is true for sports lovers who can enjoy multiple Sky Sports channels on their phone for just €20 top up. These added perks really do separate Vodafone's plans from the competition. As a bonus, you get two months free service if you use the voucher provided on Vodafone's website.
Unlike some mobile networks such as Three which have managed to deceive their customers by creating complex terms such as 'Flexi-units', Vodafone's plans are out right honest and simple. Simple in a good way, everyone knows what 20GB of data means and there's no strings attached like with other plans on other networks that use asterisks to trick people.
There's one more pay as you go plan available on Vodafone X. It's actually the plan that I've been using to connect to the internet for the last few months. It's so simple and intuitive that it makes me scoff at other pay as you go plans. Like most of the younger population, I'm a heavy data user, a very heavy data user. Last month I managed to gobble almost 80GB of data on my Galaxy S8 and over 110GB a few months ago. That wouldn't be possible on any other network for two reasons. For one, this Vodafone X Weekend plan is technically the only plan in the industry that offers true limitless mobile data. Another reason is that only Vodafone's network allows me to take full advantage of my phone via 4G+. Customers can enjoy Unlimited calls, texts and data from 3PM Friday until 11:59PM Sunday every weekend once you're topped up on Vodafone X Weekend.
Obviously terms and conditions apply with this plan and there is technically a fair usage limit that says customers should not exceed 100GB of data usage in a 28 day period but that threshold is significantly higher than Three's which stands at 60GB and every other network's data limit. Another critical difference between Three's pay as you go plan and Vodafone's is the ability to use your phone as a mobile hotspot to provide internet for others. It's a feature that I cherish and missed gravely while I was testing Three's network.
Of course there are some negatives, as with all plans. Unfortunately Vodafone doesn't allow you to keep that €20 for credit like Three does. Another drawback is this plan is technically only for students and you need to have a student ID to sign up in store. If you sign up online, Vodafone will use you're the date of birth registered on your Facebook account to ensure you are a student. However I know plenty of people who are not students and have managed to sign up for this plan by begging with the store assistant. Shown below is Vodafone's terms and conditions regarding data usage on its Vodafone X Weekend plan.
Unlike some mobile networks such as Three which have managed to deceive their customers by creating complex terms such as 'Flexi-units', Vodafone's plans are out right honest and simple. Simple in a good way, everyone knows what 20GB of data means and there's no strings attached like with other plans on other networks that use asterisks to trick people.
There's one more pay as you go plan available on Vodafone X. It's actually the plan that I've been using to connect to the internet for the last few months. It's so simple and intuitive that it makes me scoff at other pay as you go plans. Like most of the younger population, I'm a heavy data user, a very heavy data user. Last month I managed to gobble almost 80GB of data on my Galaxy S8 and over 110GB a few months ago. That wouldn't be possible on any other network for two reasons. For one, this Vodafone X Weekend plan is technically the only plan in the industry that offers true limitless mobile data. Another reason is that only Vodafone's network allows me to take full advantage of my phone via 4G+. Customers can enjoy Unlimited calls, texts and data from 3PM Friday until 11:59PM Sunday every weekend once you're topped up on Vodafone X Weekend.
Obviously terms and conditions apply with this plan and there is technically a fair usage limit that says customers should not exceed 100GB of data usage in a 28 day period but that threshold is significantly higher than Three's which stands at 60GB and every other network's data limit. Another critical difference between Three's pay as you go plan and Vodafone's is the ability to use your phone as a mobile hotspot to provide internet for others. It's a feature that I cherish and missed gravely while I was testing Three's network.
Of course there are some negatives, as with all plans. Unfortunately Vodafone doesn't allow you to keep that €20 for credit like Three does. Another drawback is this plan is technically only for students and you need to have a student ID to sign up in store. If you sign up online, Vodafone will use you're the date of birth registered on your Facebook account to ensure you are a student. However I know plenty of people who are not students and have managed to sign up for this plan by begging with the store assistant. Shown below is Vodafone's terms and conditions regarding data usage on its Vodafone X Weekend plan.
Vodafone has the most reliable and most advanced Network in Ireland.
There’s no more important measure of phone companies than their network quality. Since back during its famous “4G to the Rescue” marketing campaign, Vodafone has trumpeted its superior coverage, and for good reason: No other network offers the same broad reach, dependable speeds and consistent performance year after year.
Of course, Vodafone's competitors claim otherwise. Meteor, for example, manages faster speeds in many areas, and points this out whenever it can. Over the entirety of Ireland, though, Vodafone has the more dependable 4G service. This is a fact. Three can tout that they're in the process of 'The Big Upgrade' but thats a marketing stunt. Do they really think that customers should wait another two years (perhaps even more time considering recent delays) to enjoy a good network when Vodafone already offers what Three will have in two years time.
Vodafone's network team deserves praise for its continued determination to push the boundaries and be the first to innovate. They were the first to launch HD Voice and 4G+, remain the only network to offer 4G Roaming, recently achieved gigabit speeds on their 4G network, have committed to investing a further €500 million over the next three years to improve and expand their network and are preparing for the launch of one of Europe's first NB-IoT networks. Vodafone also recently confirmed that it will launch Ireland's first Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) service and begin supporting WiFi Calling early next year. It's fair to say that if you're a Vodafone customer, you'll experience the cutting edge of technology. Vodafone is the only network to have 90% 4G Population coverage in every single county in Ireland.
Where things start to get very interesting is when you hear just how superior Vodafone's network is. According to ComReg's most recent report, Vodafone is Ireland's fastest mobile network for both 3G and 4G with Meteor and Three trailing. Ookla, Rootmetrics, P3 and OpenSignal have all awarded Vodafone with the title of the best mobile network for speed, coverage and reliability. Perhaps not surprisingly, Three has questioned the authenticity of the reports but the fact is that Three needs to face the truth because they and Meteor can't hold a candle to the coast to coast omnipresence of Vodafone.
Of course, Vodafone's competitors claim otherwise. Meteor, for example, manages faster speeds in many areas, and points this out whenever it can. Over the entirety of Ireland, though, Vodafone has the more dependable 4G service. This is a fact. Three can tout that they're in the process of 'The Big Upgrade' but thats a marketing stunt. Do they really think that customers should wait another two years (perhaps even more time considering recent delays) to enjoy a good network when Vodafone already offers what Three will have in two years time.
Vodafone's network team deserves praise for its continued determination to push the boundaries and be the first to innovate. They were the first to launch HD Voice and 4G+, remain the only network to offer 4G Roaming, recently achieved gigabit speeds on their 4G network, have committed to investing a further €500 million over the next three years to improve and expand their network and are preparing for the launch of one of Europe's first NB-IoT networks. Vodafone also recently confirmed that it will launch Ireland's first Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) service and begin supporting WiFi Calling early next year. It's fair to say that if you're a Vodafone customer, you'll experience the cutting edge of technology. Vodafone is the only network to have 90% 4G Population coverage in every single county in Ireland.
Where things start to get very interesting is when you hear just how superior Vodafone's network is. According to ComReg's most recent report, Vodafone is Ireland's fastest mobile network for both 3G and 4G with Meteor and Three trailing. Ookla, Rootmetrics, P3 and OpenSignal have all awarded Vodafone with the title of the best mobile network for speed, coverage and reliability. Perhaps not surprisingly, Three has questioned the authenticity of the reports but the fact is that Three needs to face the truth because they and Meteor can't hold a candle to the coast to coast omnipresence of Vodafone.
Conclusion: It's a no-brainer
Having the most advanced and reliable network at your disposal is one thing but having the best pay as you go plans in the industry is another. Vodafone's new Vodafone X plans represent great value for money by giving customers more of what they want, more data, in addition to providing unique services such as Sky Sports and Spotify included in the price of the plan. To make things even better you can get the first two months of service completely free on the plans by using a voucher provided on the Vodafone website. The plans remain simple and bolster Vodafone's claims of having the best mobile network by supporting features such as unlimited data from Friday to Sunday and tethering. If you're looking for a new plan for your smartphone, look no further than Vodafone's Vodafone X plans.
Click the HERE to find out more details about Vodafone's pay as you go plans.
Click HERE to get a voucher offering two months free service on Vodafone X.
Click the HERE to find out more details about Vodafone's pay as you go plans.
Click HERE to get a voucher offering two months free service on Vodafone X.
