Sure Mobile BlackBerry Service
Editorial Rating
Overview:Sure Mobile is the leading provider of mobile service in the Bailiwicks of the Channel Islands, with service in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. They are part of Cable & Wireless. They are also the first to offer a prepaid BlackBerry plan in Europe.Pros: Offering both BlackBerry Enterprise and BlackBerry Internet solutions, Sure Mobile is also the first to provide a prepaid BlackBerry plan. They also have one of the cheapest BlackBerry tariffs in the UK area. Their prepaid solution is extremely good, as well – pay £2.50 a week out of your Pay as You Go balance. They also offer free BlackBerries on an 18-month contract. Cons: Their prices are on time limits – the prepaid special and all the plan costs only last until March 31, 2008. Detailed Provider Information:Voice Plan Options: You must have a Smart plan in order to access Sure’s BlackBerry service. You can choose from SmartOne, which offers you unlimited email and data plus 10p per minute on local calls, if you know you’re not going to be using your BlackBerry much for voice calls. This plan costs £7.50 a month. However, if you know you’re going to need to call people as well as access your email, you may want to choose one of their Smart minute plans. These ones range from 100 to 500 minutes a month, and the price per month ranges from £27.50 to £57.50. You also get a certain number of texts and pictures, depending on the plan that you choose.Data Options: For whatever plan you choose, you get unlimited email and data on your BlackBerry. If you choose their prepaid plan, £2.50 per week is taken out of what you’ve paid to go towards your data usage. After that, the charge will increase to £5.00. You will not be able to check your email or browse the Web if you are abroad. Messaging Options: You can use picture and text messaging with Sure Mobile. You get a certain number of messages included with your plan, depending on what it is. Customer Service: You can contact Sure through email or phone; you can also access and manage your account online and search their knowledgebase for any questions you may have. You can also search by tags to find things quickly on the site. Contract: If you have an 18-month contract, you get some BlackBerry handsets for free. All plans, except for the prepaid plan, require a contract. Messaging: Included in the plans. It’s extra for prepaid plans – 8p for local texts in peak hours; 7p for local texts in off-peak hours. International Calling and Messaging: Sure Mobile has several international and Euro BlackBerry-enabled plans. The Euro roaming plans allow you to access 3 MB of data in 27 European countries, plus a monthly minute bundle. You can choose from 100 to 500 monthly minutes and the prices range from £50 a month to £80. You can also choose their international plans, which allow you 3 MB of roaming worldwide plus a monthly minute bundle. The minutes are the same as the Euro plan; the price range is from £60 to £90. Roaming Charges: There are roaming charges when you call to other countries. You can find the Sure Mobile roaming information here. Activation Fee: You may need to pay a deposit, depending on your credit status. Additional Features: Sure has many features for your mobile, including picture messaging, internet browsing with Sure Live, and awesome ringtones and games to download onto your mobile. Insurance: None.  Phones: You can choose from many BlackBerry models, including the BlackBerry 8800.Some Additional BlackBerry Models Available: BlackBerry 8700g BlackBerry Curve 8300 BlackBerry Pearl 8100 BlackBerry 7290 BlackBerry 7130g Coverage Map: Find the coverage listing here. |
I bought a 8300 on this and it suits us fantastically. I am a consultant and work away a lot and not keen on being tied to contracts. I tend to go for PAYG phones in the country I am in. This is great as not only do i get a decent handset, i also get to keep in contact with my email as well.
Its just a shame theres no mainland plans to do the same.