Ofcom to the rescue once again

By | July 8, 2024

I was looking at my phone contract recently, and I realised that it’s going to run out soon.  So this week I’ve got a tip for you that should come in handy any time you’re thinking about changing your mobile network provider.

I’m sure many of you are already aware of comparison sites like Confused.com or MoneySupermarket where you can have a look at all the different options for everything from car insurance to savings accounts to phone and broadband contracts, and find the one that works best for you.  And if you weren’t aware, well, now you know!

But with phone contracts, there is one extra step that I’d recommend taking before you pick out your new provider.  There’s a really handy tool from Ofcom that you can use to check that the provider you’re considering actually covers your area.

All you need to do is go to the Ofcom mobile checker, enter your postcode and choose your address.  It’ll then show you which networks are available in your home, and you can click on “Outdoor” near the top to see what’s available in the surrounding area.

To avoid a bit of confusion though, it does only show you the main 4 networks: EE, Three, Vodafone and O2.  This is because all the other network companies like GiffGaff, Lebara, iD Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Smarty etc rent network space from one of the main 4.  So if you’re looking at a deal from a smaller company, you can look up which of the main 4 networks they piggyback on.

So for example, I personally get no signal from EE or Three in my house.  I was considering a deal from GiffGaff, which uses O2’s network, which thankfully is available at my house – so now I know that I’ll be able to switch over to that deal once my current contract ends.

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