Get £30 from Three through refer a friend promotion

Get £30 credit when sign up for monthly contract with 3.

3 network is the fastest growing and cheapest network in the UK. Although 3 had a reputation of shabby reception in the past (but never customer service though), it has expanded and this is no longer the case. I was told by several friends who use Orange and O2 to stay away from 3. I met one 3 user recently and he told me 3 has excellent reception. So I decided to try it.

Although I can't say how good its reception is compared to other major networks because I've only had Lebara, I can't stress how happy I've been with its customer service. Holds are usually 0-3 minutes. I've called four times (1. inquire how to change my number 2. to change my new number to existing number 3. ask how to use my phone features, voicemail, and billing 4. ask why I was being charged additional fees) and I even left feedback on its survey once. These calls are free. Just dial 333. Voicemail is also free. Just dial 123.

So I took the risk and joined 3. I am glad to find quality is very good. In fact, it makes no sense that a major wireless network would have poor quality in London. Think about it. I can't talk about its quality outside of London, but here it is flawless unless inside an elevator (it went direct to voicemail).

And 500 minutes for £18? That's 3.6p a minute for any network. 300 additional minutes to call other 3 users. I can effectively talk for 1,300 minutes on it. No other phone company does that. I wouldn't hesitate to sign an 18 month contract. You got to lock that down.

My guess is some of these wireless companies are going to consolidate. You got Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Vodaphone, and 3. And as it gets better, it will need to increase rates, luckily for us. We locked it down for 18 months. That's what happened when I signed a two year agreement with Fido back in Canada.

And 3 has Skype! We know that's the future. How amazing is free Skype calls? No other network can offer this. Bascially you can call anyone who's on Skype, whether he's on a computer or logged into Skype on his 3 phone.

Even better, they don't require a lot of credit history for a contract. I only qualified for 3 and O2.

Oh. And if you lose or have your phone stolen. They will replace yours. (I am not 100% about this because I heard this through a friend and he said he got his replaced for free.) I also heard you can't use the 3 sim on other phones, or use other sims on 3 phones. I have yet to validate this but will update once I find out.

Who outside of tech and VC has heard of Spinvox?

3 has it. It also has MSN Messenger service for free.

The only downside is I opted for Nokia's newest model Nokia 6500 slider and the Skype software for the phone isn't out yet so I can't use skype, but my friends who have the older models tell me Skype is great on it. I am very eager for the software to come out!

3 also has this promotion going on now that gives you £30 when you sign up.