UK's first 4G SIM-only plans finally appear

UK's first 4G SIM-only plans launched
SIM-only, but still costly

EE, the UK's first network to offer 4G has finally launched its SIM-only tariffs, almost a month after the superfast network strode onto the scene in Britain.

Plans start at £21 per month on a 12-month contract – no rolling 30-day deals here – which gives you unlimited texts and calls but just 500MB of data.

If you need more data each month, EE offers 1GB, 3GB and 5GB tariffs, priced at £26, £31 and £36 respectively.

Worth it?

While EE will argue that you'll be getting superfast speeds, allowing you to download apps and videos in a flash while you stroll down the street, it's hard to ignore offers elsewhere for the data hungry among us.

Over at giffgaff, for example, you can pick up 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet for £12 a month – there's no 4G, but at almost half the price of EE's cheapest offering it's well worth considering.

The good news is EE does provide nano-SIMs if you fancy picking up a new iPhone 5 SIM-free and then going down the 4G SIM-only route for a year.

Plus you can use your handset to tether your web connection to other devices - although this will likely see you chomp through your allowance in double quick time.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.