Do you have an IOT setup and maybe no WiFi – do you want a SIM so you can attach it to a cheap 3G/4G modem – or an old phone (or new phone for that matter) to do nothing but send the odd SMS and/or some data – but not a lot of data, not at stunningly high speed and you want it to last for months or years and paying monthly just isn’t practical?
This is what caught my eye about 1NCE. You buy a SIM with one cheap payment and the data you’ve paid for and SMS messages can be used any time in the next decade? Really?
Well, I just dropped one of these into my phone here in Spain and it just WORKED.
I put the fresh SIM in the phone, I switched on the phone. The SIM was recognised, so next I went into the APN setting and entered iot.1nce.com and a name of 1ONCE – that’s it – end of story.
It’s a fairly short, maybe boring story but – well, the service just WORKS.
That’s all you may need but if you want more – you simply use the password you picked on sign-up and your email address and go off to their WEB portal for info – usage etc. For €10 one-off charge you get 250 SMS messages and 500MB data at up to 1Mbps to use over the lifetime of the SIM (10 years) in any of over 100 countries without any extra charges. Here’s the link – I’m not on commission incidentally.
Please note, sad to say, this offer is apparently for business customers ONLY – you have to have a registered business name to get the SIM(s).
I’ve been using RWG (https://rwgmobile.wales) for a while. They offer a totally free plan with 50 SMS + 250 MB per month or 75 SMS + 500 MB for £1 per month. Doesn’t seem widely known but rock solid. I’m using their SIM for a GPS tracker and it’s ideal for that sort of use.
but is that just for use in wales or anywhere in the world?
They’re an MVNO on the EE network, so anywhere in the UK with EU roaming until the end of this year. So no use, unfortunately, in Spain and elsewhere but it’s the cheapest I’ve found for low data use in the UK.
For the purpose of the blog I TRY to think wider than UK, obviously – and as of Covid+Brexit I’m in Spain for the long-term… I use a company called Simyo here for main mobile + broadband backup – not sure what their roaming is like (as you can imagine not much international travel this last year or so)…. but for the backup one one of my gl-inet routers – which feeds the main one – I can pay 4 a month for 7GB – but they keep giving bonuses with 3 month rollover so last month I paid €1 (500MB)…. they latch onto Vodafone. One of those things that seems like money wasted – but the key thing being my broadband here is ok download (30Mb) but CRAP upload (3Mb) so if I’m sending stuff to Youtube for the blog etc, the mobile is around 40-50Mb in both directions…I can just tell my PC to use the mobile-connected router…. my pal has a camera in Spain – very rural – solar power, NO broadband – he lives in the UK – I’m thinking one of those Once sims might work for him.. very occasional camera view and some IOT….
You may want to check Hologram.io
I have 1 Sim on their now obsolete “maker” plan providing 1 MB per month and a few SMS. Costed me a one off of 10€ or $. It can be topped up if needed.
Not meant for intensive usage.
I found that sending a SMS from my phone to that SIM was not cheap.
Yes, I agree!!
Do you know of an alternative that doesn’t cost much?
“doesn’t cost much” is a bit vague 🙂 As well as trying out these new SIMs, I use in Spain a company called Simyo who, despite having a useless support line have a good deals. If you wanted IOT data only they do €1 for 500MB a month… I pay them €4 a month for 7GB etc…add 50p for a few calls….
Doesn’t look bad, I’ll take a look. Thanks!
Only available for business customers.
Correct – I checked with the company. Thats a shame.