Hi Katherine, not sure about your other questions, however why not look into getting a sim only contract? I'm on one provided by O2, Simplicity, which can range from £15 a month to about £60 a month. I'm on the £15 a month one, and I get 200 anyone anytime minutes, 400 anyone anytime texts, and, as an extra, unlimited O2 to O2 calls. Their GPRS service is great. You can even access the full internet if you like, and they only charge you up to 85P a day, to which it's unlimited for the rest of that day. The good thing with Sim Only contracts is that you not only save money, but you can also keep your old phone and even your number. You can also cancel any time, and it will be cancelled 30 days after you notified them. Keeping my old number, unfortunately, didn't happen with me, so I'm not sure with the process. To be honest I'm quite happy with my current set up, which is to use my N73, which has the simplicity sim installed, as my main phone and my N70, which has an O2 Pay and Go sim installed, as my backup. Anyway I hope that helps, and good luck in your research. -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Catherine Turner Sent: Friday April 25 2008 5:26PM To: Access-UK Subject: [access-uk] Choosing/switching mobile phone/providers questions Hi, From a little research I've done plus my gut reaction to my bank balance, I've decided I'm getting a raw deal from Orange, my current mobile phone provider. If possible I want to switch to another provider and have some questions. 1. Could I leave before my contract's up? How do I even find out when my contract is up? Would it be written on my bill? I've forgotten my password for the Orange website and their way of retrieving/resetting it involves phoning them which I prefer not to do - so if it'd be writtten on my bill I'd rather just scan that next time it comes. 2. What happens, if/when you switch providers, about keeping the same phone number? 3. Has anyone got any comments accessibilitywise about particular providers? Or phones for that matter. I'm happy with my Nokia 6630 with Talks and a hefty crack in the screen, but if switching means I get a new phone which I can instal Talks, MobileSpeak or SmartHal onto I'll do it. On the other hand is it possible to sign up for a new contract and use my existing phone? I think they usually give you a phone as part of the contract but would I be able to swap the sim over and use it in my old phone? If this is possible I may do it to save money. 4. Has anyone any recommendations for websites that compare different packages/tariffs? I had a quick look on moneysupermarket.com and found the phone comparison tool's search results a bit hard to understand, though I've used it before for credit cards. 5. I do want to be able to use whatever phone it is as a modem for my BrailleNote. If anyone has any comments about particular providers' GPRS services, good or bad, I'd like to hear them. I think some have had difficulty obtaining the right information/settings from them... And anything else you think will help! There seems to be so much choice nowadays about different types of payment - pay as you go, contract and some things which seem in between; and I'm not bothered about tons of features on the phone - I just want to save money on a monthly basis though I might have to spend some first to buy a new copy of Talks or whatever. I've been with Orange for the last 10 years and haven't thought it worthwhile switching before but I'm sure I could save money if I do. Thanks, Catherine ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq