X

Three offers £5 data deal, no contract required

Three is offering 250MB of mobile broadband for £5 with no lengthy contract to worry about.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

Got a phone or tablet but never use it when you're out of the house? Three is looking to woo you with a data deal costing just £5, with no contract and no strings attached.

Three is offering a one month hit of mobile broadband for just £5. That £5 nets you 250MB of data for your smart phone or tablet, for emergencies or just seeing how much data you need.

Three quotes new figures that a whopping 78 per cent of people say they never use their tablet outside of the home. If you're one of those folks who rarely use their tablet or phone for surfing the Web or other online tasks, a cheap mobile data deal is still handy for emergencies while you're out and about and away from Wi-Fi, giving you the option to check your mail, look something up, or post to Facebook that you just saw one of S Club 7 coming out of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Or if you do want to do more while you're out and about, you can just try it out for a month to get an idea of how much data you use before committing to a long-term contract.

If you have paid extra for a 3G iPad, Google Nexus 7 or other tablet, data deals can be dauntingly expensive. If you only want it for surfing the Web while you're on the sofa or watching iPlayer in bed then more power to you, but a mobile device really does come into its own when you bust it out in a public place -- whether it's finding the nearest cash machine, toilet or cocktail bar, buying something, or cheating at a pub quiz. 

Is 250MB of data enough for emergencies? Does your tablet only get used at home, or is that missing the whole point of a mobile device? Tell me your thoughts at home in the comments, or go out and about and head for our Facebook wall.

Update: Three says the new £5 deal has been "temporarily delayed." No release date has been confirmed. 

Update 7 June: Three says the £5 deal is now live. Go, go, go!