Hey lads, As I'm getting prepared to move in a month or 2: Any recommendations on mobile providers in Dublin? Also, I'll need to open a bank account. Gracias.
Meteor are the cheapest - 085 Vodafone most popular and best coverage - 087 or O2 - like vodafone - 086 three - dont know much about these - 083 As for banks choose either AIB or Permant TSB
PTSB I think, I'm with AIB and I hate them but their online banking keeps me hooked. PTSB are free to bank with
with 02 mate, not bad coverage overall, depends if you want ready 2 go or bill pay really. im with aib, again the online banking is easy to do. i got a free pen and a few sweets with mine so that swayed me.
Do Meteor not use the vodafone network? i'm using Meteor as my own phone and 02 for work and travel a good bit around the country and I don’t find there to be much of a difference if any at all between the both of them.
I was with Bank of Ireland but didn't like 'em so I moved to AIB. I find the internet/phone banking very good with AIB. Also, if you use internet/phone banking for at least 1 transaction per month (pay credit card bill or some other bill online) then there are no bank charges from AIB either. You may need to fill out a form first before this kicks in. Judging on the amount of profit they anounce each year they're all robbing b**tards - you just need to figure out which one will rob you less based on your lifestyle/income/transactions etc.
Well I remember being told that Meteor only had a certain amount of masts around the country, and as soon as you lost coverage it would try and pick up an O2 mast and take it from there. Maybe things have changed since, I'm open to correction.
Hi Philly, Your gonna love this rant ... Mobile Phones 3G networks are being rolled out in Ireland at the moment. It would seem, that currently "3" or Vodafone are progressing the fastest from various reports online, in newspapers etc. You might aswell go for 3G, were all going to be moving soon enough and there's little investment in the older 2G networks anymore, so they'll just go from bad to worse. 02 & Vodafone are traditionally the most popular, due to the fact that they are the two networks operating the longest in Ireland (former companies sold to the respective current owners etc). Both networks are suspected to be overloaded, so drop calls regularly on their 2G systems (they sell bulk space to people like Tesco Mobile etc causing further problems, at peak times). However, their service is better on a national level, than the other operators. 3 & Meteor are the other two networks worthy of mention. 3 are part of a large corporation from Hong Kong (Hutchinson W.... ), although are fairly new to the Irish market, so it's early days for them. From what I've seen on a friends phone and heard from him, they are excellent - probably a combination of A) the fact that they are a 3G network & B) the fact that they are fairly new, so don't have a massive customer base yet and as such, are not overloaded on their network etc. Meteor are owned by Eircom & operate on a 2G network. They were recently given a 3G network by the state, but there are all sorts of stories doing the rounds, that Eircom will sell off Meteor etc, so who knows what the story is here. They are floggin cheap services at the moment, to sign up lots of customers - might be in preperation for sale, or to grow customer base, I'm unsure. Tesco Mobile - is a cheap spin off, piggybacking on (I think it's) 02's existing 2G network to try and make a few quid, I'd not be quick to sign up for them as they will be cheap, but unsure if they wil be cheerful mate. Banking We need to start with the hard questions first mate, whats more important - face to face service, or cheaper banking ? I take it you need: - a current account with ATM card / debit card ? - potentially a savings account & credit card ? - online banking / phone support - do you need easy access to over the counter services in a branch ? You'll find this website helpful in terms of surveys on pricing of different banking packages etc btw: http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/ although personal experience from all of us with dealing with the banks etc is obviously worthwhile mate Cheers
o2 give you FREE webtexts worldwide -only provider that does. It may be handy to keep in touch with all your U.S. mates like Hicks!!
Yet again, awesome info; great summary on the phones. I use T-Mobile here in the states (T-Com) but they are a completely seperate entity from their European counterparts. - a current account with ATM card / debit card ? Yep - potentially a savings account & credit card ? Preferable, not necessary - online banking / phone support Online required - do you need easy access to over the counter services in a branch ? Not really, as long as there are ample ATM locations
Phones. I am with Meteor,free text messages to all Meteor phones and can ring MrsDub13 for free.Thats not a bad deal.I was with 02 but switched about a year ago and my bill has dropped a lot since then. Banks. I am with Bank of Ireland and they are fine the on line banking is very good.I have no experience with other banks.
Anything I can do to help mate There are basically 6 clearing banks & 2 building societies. To be quite frank, you really need to get a clearing bank... AIB - Good reliable bank, good online system etc. All principal services provided & approx 300 branches nationwide. Main negative with them has to be their charges, they manage to nail everyone for fees. They seldom prove to be the cheapest in various best buy surveys for any produt they offer ! Good ATM Network, works with all other clearing banks at present along with many international though Visa network & also Mastercard I think. Bank of Ireland - Again, reliable over all. Almost the same size as AIB. All principal services provided, friends who have them tell me their online & banking365 services (phone) is very good, again circa 300 branches nationwide. Sadly they also manage to nail you for lots of charges etc/ Good ATM Network, works with all other clearing banks at present along with many international though Visa network & also Mastercard I think. They seldom prove to be the cheapest in various best buy surveys for any produt they offer ! Ulster Bank - owned by RBS, who are supporting H&G by funding them with LFC and given the buoycott I can't recommend this lot Service is pretty good overall, staff are very good in the branches but their online is probably not as good as AIB / BOI. Approx 100 branches nationwide. Good ATM Network, works with all other clearing banks at present along with many international though Visa network & also Mastercard I think. They seldom prove to be the cheapest in various best buy surveys for any produt they offer ! NIB Recently bought out by Danske Bank - Danish & strong progress made since this. Danske are a very good bank, highly regarded etc. As soon as they bought NIB, they put their computer & online services in ... which are excellent, probably the best I've seen or heard of to date. Approx 100 branches nationwide The tend to be slightly cheaper than AIB / BoI or UB but often want to sell you a few products, to offer the cheaper rates, including a good cheap mortgage package if you meet their criteria. Good ATM Network, however they recently pulled out of the Irish ATM network, so don't work with all other Banks ... only those with specific Mastercard services - can't recall the full details, only happened recently. PTSB Good at the basics, but not always the cheapest for some of their products. Offered a free current account which attrated a lot of new customers, but I gather the bank is now pushing all of them quite hard for other business. Approx 120-150 branches nationwide. Would not have as extensive a range of products or services as AIB / BoI Good ATM Network, works with all other clearing banks at present along with many international though Visa network & also Mastercard I think. Hallifax Often appear top of the best buy tables, currently on an expansion plan although currently the smallest of the clearing banks. Approx 40 branches nationwide, primarily cities. ATM service provided through Visa network, so cards work just about everywhere in the world with the Visa symbol. Online works fine and the branches have longer opening hours, including Saturdays for part of the day which is handy. Also, as they are relatively new in Ireland, not too many customers so very small queues in the branches Would not have as extensive a range of products or services as AIB / BoI at present, but expanding all the time - important to note: owned by HBOS a large UK bank, so no doubt there'll be more to come from these guys in time. I've posted this for you again, as it does have a table on it with pricing for various current accounts, as I recall - survey by regulator so should be accurate. You'll find this website helpful in terms of surveys on pricing of different banking packages etc btw: http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/ although personal experience from all of us with dealing with the banks etc is obviously worthwhile mate