Three introduces new 8GB contract plan, forgets to let anyone know
One has to wonder if Three made a mistake by ‘announcing’ some pretty big news, which appears to have gone almost entirely unnoticed.
That’s probably because I didn’t receive a press release, and it seems I’m not alone. Indeed, I only found out when I read the news on a forum earlier today. All Three appears to have done is put it on its own website, which is why I wonder if it was published prematurely.
But, given it’s there, and in case you’re one of those who didn’t notice it, Three has announced a new 8GB tariff, and also increased the amount of tethering data to 8GB – which could be considered even bigger news, given the current maximum has been 4GB (with the option to add a further 1GB for £5).
The 8GB of tethering will apply to this new tariff, and the unlimited (AYCE) plan that, for now at least, remains. This means Three now has plans with 500MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and unlimited (AYCE) data.
According to the network, the changes have been made in response to research that showed 60% of Brits didn’t know how much data any particular activity would consume on a smartphone or tablet, and that’s hardly surprising. Indeed, I’m surprised it was as low as 60%.
Even I can’t accurately predict the data usage for many things, like sharing photos or watching videos on Netflix, Sky Go or BBC iPlayer. Of course I have an idea, and perhaps better than many, but it’s still a lot of guesswork and assumptions. Given some services will stream higher quality content on a faster connection, it gets even more unpredictable.
The introduction of an 8GB plan, assuming the pricing is right and doesn’t result in a huge price hike for the AYCE plan (the pricing is not yet showing on the Three website), could be a good option for people likely to keep within the allowance, and therefore not need the top plan.
This new tariff is clearly part of a number of new initiatives coming as part of its recent advertising campaign.
Three is offering this new plan on all handset contracts, and will make the new 8GB plan available on SIM-Only in August. The increased tethering allowance is however only for new contracts – so anyone on existing plans will not see an increase from 2GB or 4GB, at least until the contract is up for renewal or you perhaps call up and ask if Three can ‘make it right’.
More info: Three
Original Press Release
Three introduces 8GB data tariff to its contract handset packages
Three introduces a new data tariff available for contract handsets that provides new customers with an 8GB mobile data allowance – joining the existing 500MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and All You Can Eat allowances available. (BSL).
The new 8GB allowance has been introduced to provide customers with more choice on the amount of data they purchase and more freedom to browse the web when on-the-go.
This follows new research commissioned by Three which shows that 60% of Brits don’t know how much data individual activities use on their phones and tablets, such as watching a two hour film, uploading a photo to Facebook, or making a 30 minute Skype call. As a result over two thirds (68%) of people avoid doing certain things on their phones to avoid exceeding their allowance.
Tom Malleschitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Three, said: “Customers are asking us for more variety in the data allowances on offer and we’ve listened to their feedback and introduced this new allowance.
“Our customers love using the internet on their devices and now they have even more choice of plans to enjoy browsing the web on our reliable network, with all the added benefits that Three offers such as Feel at Home.”
To help customers decide on the best data plan for their needs, Three has a handy data usage calculator which is available to view online.
Activity Average data usage* 30 minute Skype video call 350MB Downloading a two hour film 700MB-4GB Two minute YouTube video 5MB-11MB Streaming music for 30 minutes 30MB-100MB Uploading a photo to Facebook 500KB Play games like Candy Crush for 30 mins 2.5MB-5MB Send 25 emails (without attachments) 25KB This new data tier is available on all contract handset packages and will also be available on SIM Only plans from August 2015. In line with this addition, the personal hotspot allowance on tariffs with All-You-Can-Eat data for new contracts has also been increased to 8GB
All plans include added benefits on Three such as 4G at no extra cost in 4G enabled areas, and Feel at Home in 18 destinations worldwide; including Spain, US, France, Italy and Australia. Pricing for all data plans is available at www.three.co.uk.