UK Cell Service Providers
The major providers are Vodafone, O2, EE and Virgin Mobile. Most likely, you are looking for a SIM Card only plan. There are phone shops at the Lion's Arcade Shopping Center in city center. Some providers may send you your SIM in the mail. The Cambridge International Students Union may hand giffgaff SIM cards for free at the Freshers Fair.
A summary of the major networks http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/networks/
Tips from past CMEs
All SIM Card Only Plans Under 14 GBP/month (created 10/10/13)
Provider | Base Price (GBP) | Minutes (UK only) | Texts (UK only) | Data | International to USA (GBP) | Contract Length | URL |
Vodafone | 9 | 300 | 500 | 250 MB | 5 + 10p/min | 12 months | http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/pay-monthly/sim-only-plans/index.htm |
Vodafone | 11 | 300 | 500 | 250 MB | 5 + 10p/min | 30 days | http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/pay-monthly/sim-only-plans/index.htm |
Vodafone | 13 | 900 | Unlimited | 500 MB | 5 + 10p/min | 12 months | http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/pay-monthly/sim-only-plans/index.htm |
giffgaff | 7.50 | 200 | Unlimited | 250 MB | 3p/min | 30 days | |
giffgaff | 10 | 500 | Unlimited | 1 GB | 3p/min | 30 days | |
giffgaff | 12 | 250 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3p/min | 30 days | |
Orange
| 10 | 20p/min (Racoon plan 14 p/min) (some plans offer a set number of free calls) | 10p/text (some plans offer a set number of free texts) | varies | varies | 30 days |
Vodafone has some blackout spots on Cambridge’s campus. See their coverage map: http://www.vodafone.co.uk/our-network-and-coverage/uk-coverage-map/index.htm
giffgaff runs on the O2 network which has no blackout spots according to their coverage map. I didn’t think O2, itself, had any attractive plans. O2 coverage map: http://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker
Orange has 18 month contract minimums for their pay monthly SIM plans. There are four options for their pay as you go SIM plans. See them here (same as the URL in the table): shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/sim-only/pay-as-you-go
Tesco is another major provider but it doesnt’t offer short term contracts .
Orange is under the EE umbrella, another cell service provider. Their lowest plan cost 21 GBP so it didn’t make the cut. O2 Phone plan page: http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-tariffs/pay-monthly/?plan=12-month-sim-only