Mobile and Broadband contracts: Where's the competition?

[Canuk]

About 7 years ago a French telecoms company called Free Mobile burst into the broadband and mobile market with previously unheard of deals. They began offering 100gb per month deals, with unlimited EU/US/Canada phone and text packages for 20 euro a month. This really shook the market up.

In the past few years they've offered regular 'specials' of 1 euro a month, and latterly 1 euro for the same deal for a 12 months. They now routinely offer similar deals for both mobile and broadband services, for an entire year!

All the other big operators have had to follow suit and at least try and compete. Their service is on the whole excellent, though they do make it quite difficult to get out of a contract, which is understandable given the low cost and their desire to retain customers.

I'm curious as to why there is no such similar offerings in the UK. Certainly when I lived there 2 years ago the deals on offer were pitifully expensive and offered little in return for what I thought high prices. Is there something fundamentally hindering competitive instinct and competion in this sector in Britain?

[Cunobelin]

One of the issues in the UK is that there are few providers.

For instance buy a mobile on Tesco or Giff Gaff and you ere using a choked version of O2

Buy the Plusnet Broadband, and you are in fact buying a choked version of BT

Basically the big ones allow their service to be used, but restrict what the users can do, and the price



One thing that annoys me are cheaper contracts are available.

I swapped from O2 to a cheaper tariff last year, and when I asked for the PAC Code I was told they would match the new contract price.

That means that when I asked the previous week for their cheapest tariff they simply lied

I don't think they were happy when I pointed that out!


The second is "offers" and not just in broadband.... This is where someone new gets a reduction for 6 months or a gift or additional service whilst there is no reward for loyalty.

I refuse to renew automatically, and then ask for a new contract with the discount.... Some state that there has to be a gap between the contracts, in which case I will go elsewhere, but again it is amazing how many times you will get the discount

WHY is it not simply offered as an honest and open policy instead of being something that you have to fight for

[Paulatic]

Back in the nineties...free dial up internet service X-Stream. Anyone remember having that on speed dial and constantly refreshing trying to get a connection. Truly awful service but hey it was free.

[Oldjohnw]

.Back in the nineties...free dial up internet service X-Stream. Anyone remember having that on speed dial and constantly refreshing trying to get a connection. Truly awful service but hey it was free.

I remember dial up well. I was an early 'remote' worker and ever Saturday would send work to the office and collect new stuff. It could take several hours, meanwhile tying up the family phone. Eventuall I was given a separate landline just before wireless broadband became avilable.

Too often calls were lost and I had no idea what had been sent.

[Canuk]

I think it's still pretty sneaky when we do such a large amount of shopping and business online, and online entities benefit immensely from reduced staffing costs that internet provision is not completely free.

IMO we're fools to ourselves to pay for it.

[Cunobelin]

I think it's still pretty sneaky when we do such a large amount of shopping and business online, and online entities benefit immensely from reduced staffing costs that internet provision is not completely free.

IMO we're fools to ourselves to pay for it.

It can be.... just hack your neighbours!!

You can, depending where you live survive using free WiFi

[mercalia]

One of the issues in the UK is that there are few providers.

For instance buy a mobile on Tesco or Giff Gaff and you ere using a choked version of O2

Buy the Plusnet Broadband, and you are in fact buying a choked version of BT

Basically the big ones allow their service to be used, but restrict what the users can do, and the price



One thing that annoys me are cheaper contracts are available.

I swapped from O2 to a cheaper tariff last year, and when I asked for the PAC Code I was told they would match the new contract price.

That means that when I asked the previous week for their cheapest tariff they simply lied

I don't think they were happy when I pointed that out!


The second is "offers" and not just in broadband.... This is where someone new gets a reduction for 6 months or a gift or additional service whilst there is no reward for loyalty.

I refuse to renew automatically, and then ask for a new contract with the discount.... Some state that there has to be a gap between the contracts, in which case I will go elsewhere, but again it is amazing how many times you will get the discount

WHY is it not simply offered as an honest and open policy instead of being something that you have to fight for

well things have got better. I recently changed my O2 payasyougo from an archaic original version that was some thing like 35p/minute daytime 10p evening for calls ( I hadnt bothered before as I rarely used a phone & didnt know that things had got better) to a 321 account ie 3p a minute to landline or mobile

O2 original Pay As You Go

look at this and be shocked at the bad old days

[Mick F]

Friend of mine complains about his wife spending money on a mobile phone contract and a broadband contract too. He reckons it adds up to £300 per year.

I asked him how much it costs for his newspapers seven days a week, and if he used the broadband (already paid for) for his news, he would save a fortune. £200 per year for newspapers?

I also asked him what he did with his newspapers when he'd read them, and was told that he put them in the recycling.