3 Mobile mobile phone deals & offers on contract

3 is a mobile phone brand that is famous in a number of countries, from Australia and Austria, to Croatia and Hong Kong. Being owned by parent company Hutchison Whampoa, 3 is also one of the major network providers within the UK. Operating in several different countries the company boasts about 19 million customers worldwide for its mobile phone network.

3 is the fourth and fifth largest network in Ireland and the UK respectively being overshadowed by larger rivals like O2 and Vodafone. However, since the introduction of 3G networks, 3 quickly became the largest network operator for 3G services within the UK with over 4 million customers. The level of 3G customers on 3´s network is larger than all the other mobile phone networks combined together. Although operating mainly on 3G networks (UMTS) 3 has an agreement with Orange which provides its customers with access to GSM bands when required. This agreement increases the network coverage for 3´s customers and there is a similar agreement with Vodafone in Ireland.

3 offer both contract and pay as you go phones, as well as providing free and unlimited Skype-to-Skype service for all its customers. They also have a business agreement with high street chain and fellow Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary Superdrug to exclusively sell their phones. 3 has not relied solely on deals with existing retailers however, and right from the start of their operations has had a number of phone stores themselves. The initial 3Stores were launched in Oxford Street and Birmingham at the time of the launch of their 3G network and since that time they have gone on to open a larger chain of 3Stores nationwide. As well as selling their phones through their own stores 3 phones can still be found in major phone retail stores, independent stores and through online retailers.

While offering a wide range of phones including the latest releases, 3Stores are restricted to selling phones on the 3 network. They do offer sim-free handsets and well as pay as you go, on top of an extensive array of contract options that provide enough choice to finely tune a talk plan for virtually anyone´s needs. As well as having a large number of high street stores 3 also sell their handsets and contracts online at their website with free next day delivery.