There has been a massive increase in the use of smartphones in Ireland – it is estimated there were 4.5 million active smartphone SIMS at the start of 2019
These smartphones are used for much more than simply talking or texting – you can check emails, go on Facebook or Twitter, use one of the thousands of apps or just browse the internet. The average data usage per smartphone user in Ireland was 5.4Gb per month in early 2018. This has increased by 50% since 2017.
Of course – there are charges for the data you download or upload with your smartphone (if you are not using WiFi) – and these charges can soon mount up if you are not careful and exceed the amount included in your price plan.
Data charges and allowances on mobile bundles in Ireland vary quite a bit across the different network providers. We did a quick comparison of the data costs and allowances of the main mobile networks to see which network gives the Best Mobile Data Allowances in Ireland October 2019
- New provider GoMo (owned by Eir) is doing 80Gb of data for €9.99 a month SIM only. 30-day contract. This also includes “unlimited” calls and texts.
- Virgin’s best SIM-only bundle for data costs €25 and gets you “unlimited data” and calls and texts. (Price reduced to €0 for the first month)
- Tesco Mobile have a SIM only option where paying €25 a month will get unlimited calls and texts and 20Gb of data .
- Three Ireland are offering a SIM-only deal with “all you can eat ” data per month for €30 a month. (There is a 60GB fair usage limit).
Figures checked Oct 2019
See more here about which network has the cheapest pay as you go deals for calls and texts.
While you are connected using WiFi at home or in a pub/restaurant etc – any of that data usage will not be charged to your top-up credit – so use WiFi whenever possible. If you are worried about your credit being eaten up by data downloads – it is is a good idea to turn off mobile data on your smartphone.
Take a look at our page on the Cheapest Home Broadband in Ireland
