Best 3 Mobile Deals

Pay Monthly

3 Mobile offer two main types of pay monthly contracts. Standard pay monthly contracts include a new phone, with the cost of the phone covered by the monthly charges. Depending on the contract and phone selected, an up-front fee towards the cost of the handset is also sometimes applicable. SIM Only deals don’t include a new phone with the order, but generally have lower monthly fees and shorter, more flexible contract lengths since the cost of a new handset doesn’t have to be covered by the network.

Both standard and SIM Only contracts can be customised by selecting and purchasing Pay Monthly Add-ons. These are additional services such as extra inclusive text messages or BlackBerry email services that can be added to a contract for a monthly fee.

Phone Included

Like many of 3 Mobile´s services, their monthly contracts including a phone are built around internet connectivity. There are three types of contract available: ´Ultimate Internet Plans´, ´Essential Internet Plans´ and ´The One Plan´.

Each plan offered by 3 includes 5000 texts and a specified amount of inclusive minutes and mobile data along with a minimum monthly fee, which is sometimes increased depending on the phone selected. 3 Mobile contracts which include a new phone have minimum durations of either 18 or 24 months.

‘The One Plan’ is a special tariff from 3 designed to provide more than enough texts, minutes and mobile data allowance for the majority of users. This tariff is available from £25 per month, depending on the phone selected, and includes 2000 any-network minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 minutes to 3 Mobile numbers, and unlimited ‘All-You-Can-Eat’ data.

´Essential Internet´ plans and ´Ultimate Internet´ plans are mainly differentiated by the amount of inclusive data they offer. Essential Internet packages all include 250MBs of inclusive internet while Ultimate Internet packags include All-You-Can-Eat internet.

Essential Internet packages are available with 100, 300 or 500 minutes and cost from £12 per month upwards, depending on the number of minutes, contract length and phone selected. Ultimate internet packages are available with 100, 300, 500 or 1000 minutes and cost £15 per month upwards, depending on the number of minutes, contract length and phone selected.

SIM Only

3 Mobile offer a range of Pay Monthly SIM Only contracts. These deals do not include a new phone and so are generally cheaper than standard Pay Monthly deals and are available with flexible short contract durations. SIM Only contracts are ideal for customers who already have a phone that they are happy with. A number of different SIM Only tariffs are available, designed to suit a range of different customers.

‘The One Plan’ is available as a SIM Only contract and includes 2000 any-network minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 minutes to 3 Mobile numbers, and unlimited ‘All-You-Can-Eat’ data. This is a rolling monthly contract which costs £25 per month.

3 Mobile’s SIM Only 100, SIM Only 300 and SIM Only 600 plans are available with either 1 or 12 month durations and offer a mixture of minutes and texts along with a 1 GB data allowance for between £10 and £20 per month.

Data allowances can be added or expanded with contract Add-ons from 3. There are also Add-ons available for a range of other services, such as international minutes or BlackBerry services.

Pay As You Go (PAYG)

3 Mobile offer a single Pay As You Go tariff, designed to be suitable for all users. This tariff has two key benefits. Firstly, 3 credit a free 150 MB data allowance to PAYG customers whenever they top up their account with any amount. This data allowance lasts for 30 days and is applied whenever a top up is made.

Secondly, 3 offer a range of Add-ons that allow PAYG customers to add services to their account. The most prominent of the available Add-ons are the unique ‘All-In-One’ Add-ons offered by 3. Three of these Add-ons are available and they provide a mixture of calls, texts, and mobile internet for between £10 and £25 each. Add-ons are also available to individually add either pre-paid texts, mobile data allowances or Three-to-Three calls. All Add-ons except the ‘Internet Daily’ Add-on last for 30 days.

If you’re moving to 3 Mobile from another UK mobile network, it is possible to keep your current number. The process is quite simple, and transferring your number usually takes just a few working days.

Firstly, select and sign up for your new 3 Mobile contract as usual. 3 Mobile will assign a new number to you along with our new phone or SIM card. To transfer your old number onto your new contract, you need to obtain a PAC (or ‘Port Authorisation Code’) from your previous network operator. Call your old network and ask for a PAC, and they should provide one either immediately over the phone or soon afterwards via text message.

Once you have a PAC, you can pass it on to 3 Mobile along with a few other important details and they will process the transfer automatically within a few working days. You can submit your PAC code at Three’s official site or contact them directly by phone.

See network contact details.

Mobile internet and 3G technology are central features of the 3 network and as such there are numerous options for mobile data available.

All standard Pay Monthly and most SIM Only contracts include a data allowance as standard. These data allowances range from 250MB per month up to the ‘All-You-Can-Eat’ unlimited data included with ‘The One Plan’ and ´Ultimate Internet´ plans. Customers on ´Internet Essentials´ plans can add an additional 250MB to their standard allowance for £2 per month, or add All-You-Can-Eat data for £5 per month.

Pay As You Go customers receive a 150 MB allowance with every top up they make. This allowance lasts for 30 days and is applied every time a top up is made. PAYG customers also have several Add-on options for adding mobile data to their phones. The ‘All-in-One’ Add-ons from 3 Mobile include a either a 500 MB data allowance or unlimited data, depending on the option chosen. Alternatively, PAYG customers can purchase a 500 MB allowance to use within 30 days for £5 or a 120 MB allowance for 50p. Data use outside of allowances is charged at 11p per MB for PAYG customers.

To help you get an idea how far your data will go, take a look at our handy chart:

Table represents approximate values.