Introducing our new 4G ready & tethering friendly goodybag range
on: 03/08/2015 | 12:22 - edited: 06/09/2017 | 10:31
Howdy! If you are about to read this announcement please know that it is one of our older updates and things will be slightly different now when it comes to goodybags. Please check the Announcement board for the latest on the topic.
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Members always play a big part in shaping what we do here at giffgaff so in June we invited you to complete a survey on what you want from your goodybags. Thank you again for your feedback it’s been invaluable in helping us understand the areas that are most important to you.
Since then we have been busy crunching the numbers to find the best way to refresh our goodybags to deliver great value and experiences to as many members as possible.
Here’s a summary of what you told us and what we are doing about it…
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You said… |
So… |
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Speeds are really important to you |
We are making all our new goodybags 4G ready |
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You don’t want to pay extra for 4G |
We are launching one simple range of goodybags so you’ll pay the same whether you use 3G or 4G |
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More minutes are important for big callers |
We are doubling our minutes on the £15 & £18 goodybags and adding Unlimited minutes at £20 |
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Unlimited data is appealing because some of you worry about running out of data |
We are launching Always On data at £20 so you can benefit from 4G speeds up to 6GB of usage and unlimited access at reduced speeds if you need more |
Something else you’ve been telling us is, you want tethering to be available across the range. The introduction of Always On data means we can do that for you too.
We’ve also made things simpler with the new range reducing the number of goodybags from 9 to just 7.
Here’s our new goodybag range - all 4G ready and tethering friendly
As part of the changes we are also making our gigabags 4G ready too, giving you:
500MB UK data for £5 or 1GB of UK data for £7.50
When’s it happening?
The new range will be available to buy from 2nd September 2015.
Here’s more information on exactly what’s changing
Transition plans for existing members
To help the transition we are keeping two 3G goodybags for existing members who have activated a SIM card on or before the 2nd August 2015.
£12 - we’ll make this existing 3G only goodybag available until 1st Mar 2016
£20 Unlimited - we’ll make this existing 3G only goodybag available until 12th Jan 2016
Please note, the £15 offer goodybag (we made available to existing members to help the transition in last September’s price changes) will no longer be available after the 1st Sept 2015.
What’s Always On data?
We know many of you find the concept of Unlimited appealing as it gives peace of mind that you will always have data.
However over the last year we have seen a big reduction in the number of people who opt for Unlimited for a number of reasons: a price increase; bigger bundles at lower price points and; the introduction of one of our most popular member ideas the ability to ‘Early repurchase’.
The fact remains though that a small number of Unlimited members still use a huge portion of our available data. Traffic Flow measures we’ve told you about over the last year have helped but they are not the full solution. With growing support in the Community for a new way to make the distribution of data fairer and protect the experience for all, the time feels right for a change.
The Always On goodybag offers members 4G speeds on the first 6GB of data used and then access to unlimited data at a restricted speed from 8am until midnight. We have chosen a speed of 256 kilobits per second that allows members to still use regular data services whilst reducing demand on the network.
Most Unlimited members don’t use anything like 6GB so the only differences will be that they can now enjoy 4G at no extra cost and can use their first 6GB for tethering.
Other changes
As part of the review of pricing we need to increase the ‘access charge’ to Non geographic numbers from 15p to 25p per minute. This is charged on any call to a service number starting with 084, 087, 09 or 118. Sorry about that.
What next?
Thank you again for your help in shaping the new range. The priority is to give you better speeds with 4G, a simpler great value goodybag range and peace of mind for those who want Always On data.
We are sending an email to update everyone on what’s changing and for members with goodybags we will follow that up with Best Plan Advice to help you decide what’s best for you once we’ve launched the new goodybags.
To confirm, the new range will be available from 2nd September. In the meantime, you can find out more information on what’s changing here.
Update 5/08
At the time of writing 82K have viewed the new goodybag thread and we’ve had over 500 unique contributors. We are reading all your comments and today I’d like to talk about feedback on the changes to the £12 3G goodybag which has emerged as the biggest theme so far. With that in mind, I wanted to get back to you with some more information:
- Firstly a point to clarify, members with 3G phones can still use the 4G ready goodybags, it’s seamless you don’t need to do anything. It just means members with 3G phones will use the 3G network.
- Not everyone would be affected by a reduction in the data allowance from 3GB to 2GB as 76% of members with a £12 3G goodybag use less than 2GB a month.
- We have guaranteed to keep the £12 3GB 3G goodybag for existing members until March which means nothing will change for at least 6 months. If you recur you don’t have do anything and if you don’t recur it’s there to buy if you want to.
- The landscape is changing with coverage growing quickly and more and more people upgrading to 4G phones so by March even more people will have access to 4G.
We know members prefer simplicity so we’ve always seen separate 3G & 4G goodybags as a transitional step. With the growth of 4G and member feedback calling for no price difference between 3G & 4G the time feels right to make things simpler. It’s regrettable that as part of the alignment on prices some members feel the changes aren’t right for them. It’s something we care about and we want to do what we can to help.
As I’ve outlined above the £12 3G plan is scheduled to end in March but we will commit to reviewing this decision in Feb 2016 in the light of the number of members still buying this goodybag at that time, progress on 4G coverage and 4G phone ownership.
I hope this helps reassure existing members on the £12 3G goodybag.
Update 4/08:
Here's the answer to a couple of common questions:
For answers to more FAQs please click here
on: 03/08/2015 | 12:27 - edited: 03/08/2015 | 15:19
What about the old £15 unlimited bag that existing members still buy ?
Will it still be available ?
on: 03/08/2015 | 12:29
I'm sure a few members won't be pleased. But over all I think it's for the better and improving service for many.
I myself will still to the old £12 goodybag until I have my next phones and cn use 4G.
The only downside I see here is the change will be a little confusing for a bit, but we'll get or heads around it and it sounds like it will be better for the future.
Well done Ash
on: 03/08/2015 | 12:38 - edited: 03/08/2015 | 12:43
First impressions are this looks very positive for moderate data users.
However one initial question I would put to giffgaff - given that even when you have a 4G package, a lot of the time you may be on 3G service only - so:
- will these changes have any positive effect on 3g data speeds?
(it sounds like they should?)
BTW - looks like this idea I posted a while back is implemented https://labs.giffgaff.com/idea/16511678 ... and then some
on: 03/08/2015 | 12:38
One question though, will payg data be 4g for 4g enabled phones as well or will it be 3g?