Study at Cardiff | International

How can I buy a mobile phone in the UK?

Mobile phones are cheap to buy, but expensive to use, especially if you are calling another country. For information on mobile phone companies and prices see www.mobiles.co.uk

If you choose a contract the phone will be cheap or free but make sure you check the monthly payment and call charges before signing. There is usually a compulsory monthly charge. Most contracts commit you to 12 months, some longer.

To buy a contract mobile phone you will need a "proof of enrolment" letter stating that you are a Cardiff University student and giving your term-time address. You can obtain this "proof of enrolment" letter at the bank letter venue in the Students’ Union during the 3rd and 4th week in September.

Pay-as-you-go is the no contract, no credit-check, no commitment, no monthly bills way of getting a mobile phone. The biggest advantage of this is that it is impossible to run up a huge phone bill as you can only make calls once you have already paid for them.

However, you always pay a lot more to buy the initial phone and calls are generally more expensive than on contract mobile phones.

You can buy this type of mobile phone from a lot of shops without needing a "proof of enrolment letter" from the University.

CarphoneWarehouse and Phones4u are the largest independent stores selling mobile phones, but you can also buy phones from supermarkets or mobile phone shops. There are many mobile phone operators which have shops in Cardiff and it is a good idea to shop around.

There are seven main networks in the UK - they all have shops in Cardiff.

• Orange
• T-Mobile
• Vodafone
• O2
• Three (3)
• Virgin Mobile
• Tesco

You may also wish to consider Lebara Mobile. They offer international calling rates.

Also see:

• Can I use my mobile phone in the UK?

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