Three has today introduced its new pay as you go tariff called "321". See press release Three goes back to basics on Pay as you Go: Launches game-changing offer.

Calls are 3 pence per minute, texts are 2 pence each and internet is 1 pence per megabyte. Add-on bundles are available, and there is no Dusty Bin. Calls are billed in whole-minute units.

Existing subsribers will automatically benefit from the new rates, having previously paid 26 pence per minute for calls, 11 pence for texts and 11 pence per megabyte for data.


This does rather set the cat among the pigeons. The other mainstream operators have tended to increase their "per minute" pay as you go rates to around the 25 pence per minute mark, so as to incentivise use of bundles. The smaller operators offer lower rates, generally of 10 pence per minute or less. One quite recent entrant charges 3 pence per minute.

Three's 2 pence texts are exceptionally low, without the requirement to commit and purchase a large quantity via a bundle.

Dave wrote on Jul 1^st, 2013 at 11:12am:

Quote: Calls are 3 pence per minute

Not all calls … calls to 084 numbers are 35p per minute, i.e. an Access Charge of up to 33p per minute.

Once the regulations covering the "unbundled tariff" have been formally announced (the next step of the Ofcom process), any new tariffs with Access Charges set at this level will have to cause Ofcom to declare that they will have to be reduced, or made subject to a cap, when the "unbundled tariff" comes into force.

http://text2topup.com/uk/call_throughs_three/ offer a short code for 3 users which means you can get UK Landline Calls down to 2p a minute.

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~ Edited by Dave: I previously split this posting off thinking it was solely about international calls. It is important to point out that whilst it is available on the 3 network, it is not operated by 3.