I like many others here are super excited for the launch of Monzo Mobile. Similarly, I was also disappointed that the network they would be piggybacking from was VMO2.
I decided to take out a GiffGaff PAYG eSIM, to retry the VMO2, since last trying at the end of last year, I have to say itâs definitely improved! Is it better than my current EE eSIM? Not quite, but itâs not far off.
VMO2 on a number of occasions compared to EE has been faster in speedtests, and provided consistently better speeds than EE.
Itâs definetley not the case everywhere though, from my home in Kent and job in London VMO2 // EE are both suitable. Rural coverage is where VMO2 still struggle. A recent weekend away left me with 0 bars of signal in the Cotsworlds, all weekend on VMO2. EE, despite not being great speeds, still managed to cover me with 1 bar of 5G.
It may be worth trying a GiffGaff PAYG sim whilst Monzo Mobile isnât available yet. ÂŁ12 - 50GB, youâll be able to get a grasp of where the coverage is near you if you havenât checked in a while.
All this being said, Iâll be switching to the unlimited Monzo Mobile plan when itâs available. Itâs cheaper than GiffGaffâs unlimited plan, and EE, and values loyalty.
Just would love @dara to confirm if Monzo Mobile customers will be able to utilise VMO2âs London Underground station WiFi âWiFi Extraâ, other MNVOâs in this network offer this, so I canât see why Monzo wouldnât.
I guess they will.
I could still use O2 hotspots anywhere including underground long after I had left them and I was still logging in with the same account, with number on EE/Three.
How remote are we talking? Cheltenham or some village?
With this level of roaming support honestly itâs not that bad an offer if itâs getting cheaper to a decently competitive price (assuming they manage to keep the price relatively steady).
Canât wait to try this! Iâm currently on eco-talk ÂŁ22 unlimited everything but also helps the wildlife in uk from their profits. Uses EE network tho which is great
Yeah I dunno if Iâm gonna switch to be fare coz my friends are on o2 and when we went somewhere few weeks ago non of them got data and I was only one with 5G still on eco-talk (EE) also eco talk wonât increase bills year on year itâs fixed at ÂŁ22 month. No 12/24/36 contract just rolling each month. Their customer services are brilliant too. I have unlimited data and no down time too if I want to tether to my laptop of tv to watch movies. Nice idea Monzo but use a better provider and also be more clear in what price increases etc mean for customers. So itâs a no from me (as Deborah Meaden would say)
There are plenty of MVNOâs using EE that offer the things you just listed. 1pMobile, Spusu, Mozillion etc. I donât believe any of those have automatic price rises.
It wouldnât surprise me if our posts on here were the first time Monzo have even heard of standalone. They are probably now waiting for O2 to give them an answer (No).
That said, I could be wrong. I also said that their included roaming countries would be sub-par, and they turned out to be pretty decent. Perhaps I need to be less pessimistic.
To which O2 would just reply: âOff you trot then.â
Itâs already been mentioned, maybe by you, that none of the MVNOs, with any network, get SA, so Monzo isnât going to be any different, and they must have taken this into account when deciding which network to use. O2 probably just gave them a better financial deal than the others.