What's the best deal in the UK for £30 a month?

A friend of my wife’s has emailed.

She’s just finished 18 months of contractual service with Orange and the company that sold her the deal has phoned her up again, wanting to flog another contract. They’re offering her 600 minutes (I imagine cross-network) along with unlimited text messaging for £30 a month. And, I suspect, a new handset although that wasn’t mentioned in the email.

Is this a good deal?

No. Or so I thought. Vodafone will, for example, offer you the exact same for 20 quid/month on a month-to-month rolling contract:

Ergo there has to be a much, much better deal available for contract customers? Right?

Well, let’s use the N95 8GB as an example.

What does your average Nokia N95 8GB retail for?

Vodafone will give you one for free along with 600 minutes and unlimited texts — AND unlimited mobile data — for £35 a month (18 months).

Hmm. 600 minutes sounds a bit… low.

I thought there’d be a better deal around.

Let’s check T-Mobile. They’ll give you the same handset on Flext 35 which gives you 1000 minutes, 2,000 texts or any combination. 18 months. £30 a month. But your new N95 8GB which, let’s face it, is getting a bit old now, will cost you a whopping £149.99. Stump up another fiver to take your price plan over 40 pounds and the phone is free.

Let’s have a look at Three. The challenger brand. They’ll have a good deal, right?

£35 per month, unlimited texts, 750 cross network minutes and a free N95 8GB. 18 month contract. Result. That’s a bit better, eh?

I have to confess I thought there would be better deals to be had.

How boring.

Any suggestions?