Mobile Phone options for Ireland
I learned that there were four mobile phone operators in Ireland... with a fifth arriving since I've been living here... So when I arrived in Ireland, my options were among the first four...Vodafone, O2, Meteor and 3. Of course you may have different criteria than I had when deciding your operator, like call charges to your country, or whether to buy a pre-pay or bill-pay phone. If you do decide to buy a phone here, you will notice that the cheapest ones are available with bill-pay (where you receive a monthly bill). Otherwise, you will initially pay more for your phone but you can then buy credit for your calls and texts. Of course you also have the option to use your own cell phone here, and just buy a SIM card. Just be sure that it is unlocked and is compatible with the networks in Ireland. The networks in Ireland are GSM and UMTS. I chose to buy one of the cheapest pre-pay phones available because I wanted to control the amount of money I would spend each week. I knew I would have to sign a contract for a cell phone with a monthly bill.
Incidentally, I changed to another network after a few months! The great advantage about not having a contract is that I was able to easily switch to another phone operator. And as nearly all of my friends were now using the same company, I knew I would save money! Mobile phone companies in Ireland regularly advertise new offers and change their rates. So... If you plan to make lots of calls or send text messages to your home country, it's definitely a good idea to compare each company and their charges.
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