Quote:
Originally Posted by NFH
One of the most important factors that is often overlooked with regard to suitability for visitors is the expiry policy. I understand that Meteor requires a €5 top-up every 150 days, unlike O2 and Three which require only a negligible balance deduction every 180 days.
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I haven't tested it, but the Meteor Prepaid T&Cs seem to suggest that service is suspended after 150 days, and a top-up will revive the SIM up until 13 months after original purchase. Since Meteor SIMs are free, and most users are likely to need a top-up per visit, there isn't any particular reason to try to keep a data SIM alive between visits (perhaps with a voice SIM, you might want to keep the number?) I have done this myself in other countries where there is a higher charge associated with getting the initial SIM pack. I usually find that sending or receiving a text is enough to keep a SIM alive - but I haven't tried this in Ireland, and the Meteor T&Cs do suggest that a top-up is necessary.
Regarding O2 & 3 - anyone getting an O2 SIM expecting it to still be alive after 13 months, needs to bear in mind that O2 Ireland is in the process of being sold to 3, and if this goes through, it is likely that all O2 customers will be moved over to the 3 network, and will lose their valuable Vodafone roaming agreement. I doubt they will care too much about migrating visitors SIMs who haven't topped up in the last 13 months!
If you want to match the €10 per month Meteor deal on 3, you would have to pay double with 3 - €20 per month to join what is generally regarded as the worst network in Ireland (it may improve eventually if they can install their kit on the O2 and eircom base-station sites using the agreement for site sharing that O2 had with eircom - but I wouldn't hold my breath!) However, I do acknowledge your point the 3 T&Cs seem to allow a SIM to be kept alive with a small amount of usage.