back to article Lycamobile launches 'unlimited' 4G for £12 a month. Great. Now where can I get a signal?

Mobile phone networks need to learn what the word “unlimited” means. Both Three and Lyca claim to offer “unlimited” mobile broadband, neither of them do. International MVNO Lycamobile has launched what it calls “unlimited” 4G mobile data but there is a catch. After the first 10GB of data, the speed drops to 2G speeds of …

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  1. Steve Crook

    It'll ride up with wear sir....

    "Lycra undercuts Three’s “unlimited” £12.90"

  2. AndrueC Silver badge
    Headmaster

    Three’s definition of “unlimited” is 25Gb

    So about 3GB then? Think you might have a typo there or else Three are being extremely stingy.

  3. Lionel Baden
    Flame

    10G

    What the hell is 10GB on a 4G network !! will be gone in days !!

    *browser "What a nice fast connection you have Here enjoy this 1080p advert before you get to your content."

    *Provider "You've used 5% of your data allowance !!" Wanna buy some more no dont worry we will charge you anyway when you use it by mistake and we inform you 2 days after you go over your balance.

    If you're gonna provide a high speed network just please give us the costs upfront rather than hiding.

    preferably in addition to these deals so we know what were getting when we pay for it !!!

    in the spirit of reg comparisons.

    don't see Jaguar selling cars with just a cupful of petrol that you can only buy from them!

  4. Tom7

    25GB is not bad, IMO

    I used 3 mobile for home internet for a couple of months recently. The 25GB cap was never a problem. We're not super-heavy users, but do make fair use of Skype, iPlayer etc.

    And it only cost £5 per month on top of my existing mobile contract (£3 for unlimited data, £2 to add tethering).

    1. Tom 38

      Re: 25GB is not bad, IMO

      Well, three have gone from "unlimited data, unlimited tethering" plans to "unlimited (well, 25GB but that's close to unlimited, right?) data, unlimited tethering (as long as you limit yourself to 2 GB or less, we won't limit you! Unlimited!)".

      It's still pretty good, but not that great..

      1. phil dude
        Linux

        Re: 25GB is not bad, IMO

        this was 18 months ago on three, but I didn't have a tethering plan and I ran my flat internet off it for a month while waiting for the farcical dance of DSL connection.

        I wonder if the fact it was a Meego phone masked the fact it was a router for my other devices?

        In any case I dumped VM for Three as soon as I could...

        P.

    2. Infidellic_

      Re: 25GB is not bad, IMO

      I am a fairly heavy user - typically downloading 30GB and occasionally peaking at 75GB per month. My contract is unchanged from Three's actual unlimited tethered deal (I triple check every month as it's a rolling 30 day contract) and being able to download this much is a godsend as I'm a consultant on customer sites with varying levels of internet access (typically either slow visitor wifi or I'm denied access with my laptop).

      My major problem is that inner London (the city, Tottenham Ct Road/Oxford St, South Bank etc) has HSDPA and 4G but the backhaul isn't up to scratch. For instance (it has improved) I have regularly struggled with 0.2 Mbps HSDPA connections along South Bank.

  5. Graham Triggs

    Sure about those Three terms?

    All-you-can-eat data is "all the internet use you need" whilst in the UK.

    It's when you go abroad to one of the Feel-at-Home destinations that you are capped to 25GB per month.

    http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=internetapps,varset_subcat=3583,Case=obj%283833%29

    1. ARGO

      Re: Sure about those Three terms?

      Yup, the T&C are pretty clear : "Does all you can eat data come with any limits? The limit is how much your device can consume"

      Apparently throttling - but not a complete cut off - applies if you go over 1000GB. On my maths that requires 3Mbps, 24 hours-a-day 31 days-a-month. Which seems unlikely ....

  6. The Shaukat Abbas
    WTF?

    Sort it out, will ya !?

    Its about time we got rid of the definition of "unlimited" in the sense of mobile phone data usage and made the terms clear what data you are allowed, UPFRONT, without having to read the small print of the terms and conditions, or calling customer service.

    Look at the Oxford english definition of word Unlimited and its what it says on the tin without having to read the bleeding small print at the back of said dictionary..

    Someone needs to throw a dictionary at the Mobile Phones companies, Ofcom and also the ASA for allowing the word unlimited, providing it is defined in the small print.

    Unlimited isnt unlimited, if its in the small print. Sort it out, will ya.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sort it out, will ya !?

      take the regulator out to lunch.

      offer him a seat on the board when he's looking for his next gig.

      your wish is his command.

  7. The Shaukat Abbas

    Sort it out, will ya !!

    Its about time we got rid of the definition of "unlimited" in the sense of mobile phone data usage and made the terms clear what data you are allowed, without having to read the small print of the terms and conditions..

    Look at the oxford english definition of Unlimited and its what it says on the tin without having to read the bleeding small print at the back of said dictionary..

    Someone needs to throw a dictionary at the Mobile Phones companies, Ofcom and also the ASA for allowing the word unlimited, providing it is defined in the small print.

    Unlimited isnt unlimited, if its in the small print. Sort it out, will ya.

  8. Lee Taylor
    WTF?

    5,000 text != unlimited

    "The Three deal offers 200 minutes and 5,000 texts. Although to all intents and purposes 5,000 is pretty close to unlimited – it’s about 10 text message per waking hour"

    The author obviously has no teenagers in the house...

    1. MrMur

      Re: 5,000 text != unlimited

      In the days of BBM, Whatsapp, etc, do teenagers even use text these days?

    2. Simon Rockman

      Re: 5,000 text != unlimited

      Ironically I do have two teenagers: 16 and 18. They live on Facebook messaging and Skype, not call minutes and text.

      All they want from a mobile operator is for them to be a carrier, the dumb pipe the operators fear. And they want bandwidth because most news comes from buzzfeed and sourcefed videos.

      The younger one is a heavy reddit user but that's light on bandwidth.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    nice deal shame about the network

    Having a 10 gig data limit for 4G when the network partner is o2 is like owning a ferrari that can only be driven to the end of your drive and back.

    o2's voice coverage is terrible - it always sounds like callers are connecting from a watery tomb and their data coverage on 3g is diabolically bad, let alone the tiny area of 4g coverage they have managed to roll out so far.

  10. stu 4

    tethering

    I'm confused.

    some of you are saying you have used this 12.90 sim deal for tethering ?

    but when I tried that, it works for a week or so, then I start getting bounced to the three page telling me I can't use tethering on the SIM ?

    stu

  11. Vince

    "Three’s definition of “unlimited” is 25GB, buried in the terms and conditions PDF. I guess that’s the “Display Department”."

    Sorry? Where is this? The document I have on my OnePlan states "1000GB"

  12. Julian 3

    Three Usage Cap 1000GB not 25GB!

    All you can eat data allowance -

    "A usage cap has been set at 1000GB in order for example to identify commercial use of the service, which is not permitted under the Terms for Three Services"

    Feels like home has 25GB cap for those people roaming.

  13. ecofeco Silver badge

    Bait and switch

    Perfectly legal in the US, where lying to customers is accepted as "free speech", but I understand most other countries don't allow that.

  14. Nigel Jones

    WRONG! Three *DO* offer unlimited data in the UK. The 25GB affects "free roaming" abroad only... and even then you have to exceed it repeatedly.

    "If you use more than these amounts in any 2 months within a 12-month period, it could affect your roaming services and prevent you from using international roaming in the future. We’d tell you about this first"

  15. Velv
    FAIL

    "Three remains the best deal for fondleslabs"

    I haven't read the T&Cs of this Three deal, but from previous experience of Three this might not be all it seems.

    Three previously offered a SIM Zero - you only pay for what your use, no up front fee. Calls and texts were at a reasonable rate (if you made any, which you don't from a tablet), and you could buy a bundle of data (1GB was £5, good at the time).

    Catch - you weren't actually allowed to use the SIM in a data device. It was for phones (not smartphones) only (Three's words). So while in theory it was great for fondleslabs (no calls), you weren't permitted by the T&Cs. I fail to see the difference - data is data, the device is irrelevant. But Three want your money for not providing a service.

    1. verbaloversupply

      Re: "Three remains the best deal for fondleslabs"

      I can't use my Galaxy Tab 2 (GSM - so makes phonecalls) for data with Three, even if it's a PAYG data.

      Not an issue GiffGaff has my money instead, not sure I want to give cash to a company capable of such a stupid policy anyway. (Not that giffgaff are perfect, I understand you can't teather on unlimited plans and some shocking service availability).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "Three remains the best deal for fondleslabs"

        I'm obviously missing something here: You're complaining that you can't use a GSM device on a 3G network?

  16. Long John Brass

    Hmmm ... If they ever add New Zealand to their "feel at home"

    Then it would in fact be cheaper to get Cell+Net access from them than from NZ providers

    You'd get more data too

    13GPB ~= 26NZD

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