Mobile Providers Joining Forces: More Change

[securespark]

Orange and T Mobile (formerly One2One, formerly Mercury Communications) kicked off with a merger to form Everything Everywhere.

Then Three wanted to gobble up O2, but it failed, only for there to be a successful hook up between O2 and Virgin.

Now 3 and Vodafone want to marry.

At this rate, there will be a monopoly soon, possibly called E023VodginE....

 

[blup]

Cost cutting, one of the best ways to increase profit, often through forum shopping for low taxes.

Blup

 

[Mottie]

There's still more airtime providers than when mobiles kicked off in the mid eighties. There were just two back then. Cellent and Vodafone. No difference in prices. I used to have a business connecting phones to both and could earn up to £600 per connection - it was easy, easy money if you knew what you were doing. You could pay up to £2,500 for a portable brick phone that just made and took phone calls. I paid £1700 for my first mobile - a transportable phone the size and weight of a gallon of petrol. If you were lucky, you could store 10 numbers in the memory. People had to sign up to a 5 year contract. There was a £50 connection charge, £25 monthly service charge, 50p per minute or part minute for calls, no texts, no inclusive calls, no WhatsApp, no roaming, no PAYG, no SIM only, no MNVO's and a pretty patchy service. You can't say things haven’t improved in 38 years!

 

[gas112]

Mercury one2one

quite interesting

 

[Ihavenojob]

Mercury one2one

quite interesting

What was the name of the mobile company British gas launched around the same time as they introduced the Goldfish credit card?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

We probably have some of the best mobile deals in the world in the UK, due to fierce competition via MVNOs. Mine's with Lebara, which uses Vodafone's network, I pay £4.50 a month for 5GB data, 1000 mins and 1000 texts (I've never hit any of these limits), been with them for ages and very happy with it. Vodafone's nearest equivalent is a 12 month contract with 6GB data, unlimited calls and texts but for a whopping £19/month, over 4x the price with the same network and coverage.

A merger will reduce competition and increase prices. But this won't make much difference to the majority of people, who mostly pay utterly stupid prices to the main operators or the company they previously got their phone from.

This offer code link below gets £2.50/month for 3 months, £5/month after, you can switch to £4.50 a month after if you're happy to commit to 12 months...

Follow UI React App

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Mercury one2one

quite interesting

Check out that coverage area!...

I find it amazing that they actually lanuched the service in this state.

 

[gas112]

What was the name of the mobile company British gas launched around the same time as they introduced the Goldfish credit card?

centrica bought onetel in 2001.
but prior to that they used access there own communications network so that when phoning any other employee you only had to dial the last 5 numbers of the mobile number and it connected at a 5th of the cost saved the company an actual fortune and were quite hot on engineers using it

 

[Ihavenojob]

centrica bought onetel in 2001.

Sounds familiar. Bought 2 sims for me and SWMBO, consecutive numbers, but we eventually changed providers and she didn't port her number, I've still got my number from then. Still remember my old work number, still got it listed on various firms I buy from.

 

[opps]

Check out that coverage area!...

I find it amazing that they actually lanuched the service in this state.

Have you forgotten the Rabbit phones?

Rabbit (telecommunications) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You had to be near a transmitter (normally in a newsagent) to make or receive calls.

 

[Ihavenojob]

Have you forgotten the Rabbit phones?

Didn't they vibrate rather vigorously?

 

[Mottie]

Sounds familiar. Bought 2 sims for me and SWMBO, consecutive numbers, but we eventually changed providers and she didn't port her number, I've still got my number from then. Still remember my old work number, still got it listed on various firms I buy from.

When I used to connect phones, I was given a 'Gold' number by the company I used to connect through, Millicom. I don’t think they have been around for years in the U.K. at least. I’ve had that number since 1985.

 

[securespark]

I've got a number that ends 177 188, my lad has the same prefix as me and his ends 177 199.

I bought them from a bloke who had them, along with 177 177 but he kept that one for himself!

I bought my Dad (who liked owls) a number ending 28 28 20.

I think some people work for the networks and have access to some of the more memorable numbers.

I can't see any other way one person got hold of 177 177, 177 188 and 177 199.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I paid £1700 for my first mobile - a transportable phone the size and weight of a gallon of petrol. If you were lucky, you could store 10 numbers in the memory.

I still have mine, tucked away in the loft

 

[gas112]

I had the same sim card for about 18/19 years 2001 till around 2019/20