How to choose the best mobile phone deal Mobile phone internet costs
Working out how much it costs to use the internet on your mobile phone can be confusing. What does 500MB of usage mean in real terms? What are the costs for connecting to the internet with your mobile phone abroad? Does "unlimited" really mean unlimited? Before surfing, it's important to know what your internet usage limits are and the penalties for exceeding them.
For more information about accessing the internet on your mobile read our browsing the web on your mobile phone advice guide.
Paying for usage vs monthly bundles
As with calls and texts on your mobile phone, you can choose to pay for internet and email access either on a usage basis or in the form of a monthly bundle.
Most mobile phone operators charge per megabyte (MB) of data, though some also charge by the day. O2 estimates that 1MB of data is equivalent to eight normal web pages or 200 emails without attachments. This may sound quite a lot, but simply downloading a few emails with typical Office attachments can quickly use up your allowance.
A better solution for heavy internet users is to sign up for a package, either as part of your deal or by adding a separate bolt-on.
Operators sell a variety of different data plans. The cheapest options usually place a 500MB limit per month on your internet usage. O2 equates 500MB to around 1,500 web pages, or 50 low quality music tracks, or 60 YouTube videos. So, if you don't plan to download a lot of music, or watch videos, 500MB will probably see you through the month.
Remember, you can always use a wireless home internet connection to download music, or data-heavy files, to your phone - downloading over wi-fi won't use up your mobile data allowance.
Unlimited internet
Many operators advertise 'unlimited' internet usage on some tariffs. However, the use of the word 'unlimited' should be taken with a pinch of salt, as some networks using this term still place a cap on usage.
Fair usage caps can vary from 500MB to 2GB, which should be more than enough for most users, but you should check with your operator to find out what penalty applies if you exceed this allowance.
Some operators will charge customers for exceeding their data allowance, while others may simply slow your connectivity. All network operators should provide you with notifications if you are approaching your download limit.
Using the internet on your mobile abroad
Be aware that data costs are far higher if you use your mobile phone outside the UK, and it's unlikely that overseas usage will be included in any data bundle that you have bought. Many mobile phone internet customers have faced incredibly high bills - running into thousands of pounds - simply for downloading a TV show or two while outside the country!
Recently the European Union introduced measures designed to prevent this so-called 'bill shock' from affecting mobile phone internet users in the EU. Mobile network operators can now only charge you a maximum of £41 for data usage while abroad, unless you specifically tell them otherwise. But remember this cap only applies to customers roaming in other European Union countries.
If you really need to access the internet from your mobile phone while overseas, you should consider buying a special international data package.
An even better solution is to connect to the internet via wi-fi, as long as your mobile phone handset has this capability.
For more information check out our using your mobile phone abroad advice guide.
