Best prepaid Data deal in Ireland

[drama queen]

Just thought some of you might find this update useful if you are planning on visiting Ireland.

There is a new Data-only deal from Meteor in Ireland - this is probably the best deal from any network in Ireland, for visitors. €10 per month for "unlimited data". It is not actually unlimited - there is a "Fair usage policy" of 7.5GB - but this is still pretty good for the price. The SIM is free - so €10 is the full cost that you need pay for 7.5GB.

http://www.meteor.ie/unlimited-data/

You can still receive voice calls and texts, but there are no outbound voice minutes or texts included in this. You could top up by an additional €5 if you wanted voice/text. However, with Skype/Viber/VOIP/Whatsapp etc, you might not feel the need to make outgoing voice calls. There is also a really nice Android app in Ireland called Cabbage. It allows you to send texts from your phone using the free Webtext service on Meteor. This will give you 300 free texts per month, which will look exactly like the ones you send from your phone.

A couple of other nice features on Meteor - you get free WiFi at all eircom Hotspots in Ireland (Airports, many hotels, cafe's etc). Also, when you leave Ireland you get free incoming voice roaming right across Europe, and data roaming only costs 99c per day for 50MB - one of the better data roaming deals in Europe.

Meteor has an excellent network in Ireland - they were the first to launch 4G - however, the 4G is not yet available on these prepaid deals.

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by drama queen

It is not actually unlimited - there is a "Fair usage policy" of 7.5GB - but this is still pretty good for the price.

Thanks for posting this. I suppose if someone wanted more than 7.5 GB they could always buy two SIMs

[NFH]

Originally Posted by drama queen

this is probably the best deal from any network in Ireland, for visitors.

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.

[drama queen]

Originally Posted by rfranzq

Thanks for posting this. I suppose if someone wanted more than 7.5 GB they could always buy two SIMs

Yes - or just use the free unlimited WiFi that Meteor customers can avail of at eircom WiFi hotspots throughout the country.

[drama queen]

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.

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.