TalkTalk launches “Britain’s best value” mobile service
TalkTalk has today announced a new push into the mobile game with the launch of TalkTalk Mobile, which it claims offers the “best value mobile deals”.
The company already runs a mobile broadband service piggybacking on Vodafone's network but few had heard of it; TalkTalk was seemingly just dipping its toe into the mobile world as an experiment.
This new endeavour also uses Vodafone but is far more ambitious - in addition to SIM-only options it's offering a comprehensive selection of smartphones including the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3.
Crucially, every mobile available on the TalkTalk plans is free. Pricing starts at just £5 a month for budget handsets like the Samsung Galaxy Y and Nokia Asha 201 while the most expensive - a Samsung Galaxy Note - starts at £30.
The catch is that like its mobile broadband TalkTalk Mobile is only available to existing TalkTalk broadband and phone customers.
There are three pricing tiers - small, medium and large. Small provides 100 minutes, 250 texts and 100MB data, moving up to 1000 minutes, 3000 texts and 2GB data on the large package, though data is doubled if you order online for a maximum 4GB allowance.
TalkTalk Commercial Director Tristia Clark said “We want to do in mobile what we did in broadband, and that’s to bring greater competition and choice and offer the best value to our customers.”
However despite TalkTalk’s best value boast these price plans don’t necessarily stand up against the competitive offers available from other networks.
The Galaxy S3 on Three, for example, is £33 a month with 2000 minutes, 5000 texts and unlimited internet while the closest TalkTalk package is £40 a month. Even with a £29 handset cost Three’s option equates to £821 over the life of the contract compared to £960 for TalkTalk.
It is worth noting though that TalkTalk Mobile customers benefit from free calls to each other and when dialling a TalkTalk landline, which could mean huge savings for households, particularly if they opt for a £5 package and keep additional calls and data usage to a minimum.
