Staying/Studying in The UK Part 1 - Getting a UK Phone Number

There are various telecommunications company in the UK that you can choose from such as Virgin, Three, Vodafone, BT, Lebara and so forth. Instead of going through the phone plans of every phone company, I’d go straight to the point and suggest the phone plan which I have used and believe it is the most worthwhile phone plan around. *Phone plans in the UK is either postpaid or ‘pay-as-you-go’ (PAYG/prepaid).

The telecommunications company that I used during my stay is Giffgaff, which offers PAYG packages. First of all, to get a Giffgaff SIM card, you’ll need to have a UK address because it can only be ordered online and the SIM card will be delivered to your address. They do not even sell their top up in shop as everything is done online.

Now if you look at their website (http://giffgaff.com/goodybags) their PAYG packages are referred to as ‘giffgaff goodybags’. Once you have received your SIM card, you will need to activate by following the instructions on their website only then you may select a goodybag. The £12 per month goodybag is the one that I opted for during my stay which I believe is the most worthwhile and sufficient package, not only compared to other giffgaff goodybags but also to other service providers. Unless you’re an avid caller then you may choose a higher tier goodybag or your preferred service provider.

The £12 per month goodybag offers you with:

·                     250 UK minutes

·                     Unlimited UK texts

·                     Unlimited Internet

·                     Free to giffgaff numbers

Things to note with this goodybag is that the unlimited internet doesn’t allow you to enable hotspot on your phone as stated in the package’s T&C, though I have tried to do so and you will be able to use the hotspot for a while but a longer use of hotspot will prompt Giffgaff to send you a warning text reminding you that you aren’t allowed to do so and your internet service will be barred for a period of time (based on my experience). Another thing is the phone internet coverage, you may check the coverage of the phone internet signal through this link http://giffgaff.com/coverage-and-service.

So at the mean time when you just arrived in the UK but you are waiting for your Giffgaff SIM card to arrive, you may consider getting a Lebara SIM card. Lebara offers quite worthwhile international call rates. This way you wouldn’t have to miss a call home. But I didn’t get Lebara at all, I used university’s wifi to call home through Skype, and that was free. Also note that Giffgaff mobile internet speed is fast enough to Skype back home too. I usually get an average of 3mbps through mobile internet and it’s unlimited, so the only thing you should worry about is your phone’s battery power.

Related UK Guide:

1) Staying/Studying in The UK Part 2 - Travelling Around
2) Staying/Studying in The UK Part 3 - Food
3) Staying/Studying in The UK Part 4 - Registering with a GP


Updated on 28/8/2014.