Basics[]
This article refers to the Channel Islands, an archipelago of two British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel off the French coast of Normandy. This article covers two jurisdictions:
- Balliwick of Jersey
- Balliwick of Guernsey, comprising the islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou and Brecqhou
Although the networks in Jersey and Guernsey are separate, the same companies now cover both jurisdictions.
The Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom, despite being British and geographically close to the United Kingdom. Consequently they were never part of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), and have therefore never been subject to EU roaming price caps, either for visitors from the EU & EEA, or for residents who travel to the EU or EEA.
Providers[]
All Channel Islands are covered by the same three networks:
- Sure
- JT Jersey/Guernsey
- Airtel-Vodafone
Jersey and Guernsey have always operated their own telephone services independently of the UK's national system. Both islands still form part of the British telephone numbering plan, but Ofcom (the UK regulator) doesn't have responsibility for telecommunications regulatory and licensing issues on the islands. This falls under the remit of a local agency called CICRA.
2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz and 3G on 2100 MHz on all three operators. CICRA awarded 4G spectrum in 2014 on 800 and 2600 MHz added by 1800 MHz (bands 3, 7 and 20). All three operators already started in 2015 and provide 4G/LTE to prepaid customers without surcharges on all of their plans. Like in the UK, prepaid is mostly called pay-as-you-go and supplied without registration, but expiry policies are not as friendly as in the UK.
EU roaming []
Some providers, mostly from the UK and Ireland, however voluntarily treat the Channel Islands as an EU territory, but others like O2 UK have ceased to do so. Better check your EU/EEA provider first, before use or buy a local SIM card instead.
When roaming in the UK with a SIM card from the Channel Islands, it's important that you turn off your general mobile data as well as data roaming. Because UK networks also have a Mobile Country Code of 234, your handset may recognise UK networks as a domestic network and could use data without you knowing, resulting in unexpected bill shock upon your return, as Channel Islands providers still charge excessively for roaming.
Sure[]
Sure is the leading operator on the Channel Islands. It became part of Cable & Wireless Communications in 2010 and was purchased by Bahrain-backed Batelco Islands Ltd. in 2013. 4G/LTE started in 2015 and is deployed on prepaid without surcharge. It claims to have 99% 4G/LTE coverage already on both main islands. According to network tests, they offer the fastest network on the islands with average speeds of 40 Mbps in 2018. Max. speed on prepaid SIM cards is limited to 10 Mbps.
Availability[]
Its pay as you go SIM cards are free of charge; all you need to do is top up £5 to activate. Call in store for your SIM card (nano and micro SIMs available from Sure shops only). Its Guernsey shop is located at High Street, the Jersey store at King St.
Top-up vouchers for £5, £10 or £20 can be found at many outlets throughout the islands. To check balance, type *#100#. To top-up by code, type *#101*<13-digit PIN>#.
They offer two different plans:
- Classic Plan: data stays always at 6p per MB without the chance to buy a bundle
- Rewards Plan: top-rewards as shown below can be added, default data outside bonuses is 12p per MB. To change to Rewards plan, text "Rewards" to 8888.
Data feature plans[]
Default data is 6p per MB on the Classic and 12p per MB on the Rewards plan.
These "Rewards" are only given for customers on the Rewards plan:
| Top-up | Data | Voice | SMS | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5 | 5 GB | 200 mins | 200 | 7 days |
| £10 | 10 GB | 500 mins | 500 | 14 days |
| £20 | 20 GB | 10,000 mins | 10,000 | 30 days |
There is an ongoing promotion where top-ups via the MySure app give out "unlimited" data for the above time periods instead of the above limited allowances. "Unlimited" needs to be understood in a special way: After 1 GB of daily mobile data usage the maximum speed available of 10 Mbps will drop to 7 Mbps until midnight the same day. After midnight, the maximum speed of 10 Mbps will again be available until another 1 GB of data has been used.
These mentioned allowances are included as "rewards" for free, but valid only for a limited time. On top the recharge value is added that stays valid for 1 year. In contrast to JT Telecom all voice allowances are valid to all local networks, not only on-net.
International Roaming[]
Better make a manual network selection and shut off your plan as soon as you go off the island(s) as roaming is charged very high in both the UK and France at 53p per MB. However, usage on the Sure network on the Isle of Man is treated as local.
More info[]
- APN: internet
- Website: http://web.sure.com
JT Jersey / Guernsey[]
JT Jersey and JT Guernsey is the second provider on the islands. It used to be the old state-owned operator in Jersey, but is now privatized, covers the whole Channel Islands as JT Global and is on par with the other two operators.
The network name might be shown as 'Jsy Tel' on some phones. JT covers some parts of the ferry route between Jersey and Guernsey, but speeds, even though shown as 4G+ are slow and random network disconnects are likely.
Availability[]
Their pay as you go SIM card is available in Jersey in their store at 18 Queen St, St. Helier and in Guernsey at 24 High St. The SIM card is for £3 and comes with £3 of credit. The sim should become active after doing your first topup.
Top-ups can be found at many places on the islands through Payzone terminals or by top-up cards. Check balance by *#133#. Also top-ups can be made online using international credit card, go to website and click to Register.
Data feature plans[]
Default data is charged at 19p per MB.
Like their competitors, cheaper data is connected to top-ups and given out as 'free' bonus:
| Top-up | Data
(voucher top-up) |
Data
(app top-up) |
Voice | SMS | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5 | 500 MB | 5 GB | 500 mins | 500 | 7 days |
| £10 | 3 GB | 12 GB | 1000 mins | 1000 | 14 days |
| £20 | 10 GB | 20 GB | 10,000 mins | 10,000 | 30 days |
The included allowances are added for free. This means that the top-up face value is on top, but are valid only for a limited time. On top the reloaded value stays valid for 1 year. All included voice calls are on-net only. The shops offer a locked wifi that can be used to make the top-up, ask a staff member to log you in. Please note that there a known issues with Swiftkey Keyboard not working properly in the top-up app making it impossible to top up when using it, switch to stock keyboard for the process. Store clerks reported that some foreign credit cards might not work, but trying it with a foreign MasterCard worked without any problem.
They also offer a PAYG prepaid data-only SIM, but the rate stays at 19p per MB always.
International roaming[]
Roaming in the mainland UK or Europe is at the same rate of 19p per MB.
More info[]
Airtel-Vodafone[]
Airtel-Vodafone is a mobile phone provider in Jersey and Guernsey and a partnership between Bharti Airtel of India and Vodafone UK. They are the third operator on the islands and started in 2007. Their coverage is on par with its competitors. 4G/LTE has been started and covers most of the islands now: coverage map.
Availability[]
They have two types of pay as you go SIM cards:
- PAYG Switch: available free of charge in their stores with no allowances included.
- Island Plan SIM: £15 for unlimited local and UK calls as well as 15 GB data for 30 days
The Guernsey store is located at 45 High St., the Jersey store at 26 Queen St. in St. Helier. When you put the SIM card in your phone, dial 123 to activate it, then top-up.
Top-ups can be made through vouchers or Payzone terminals all over the islands or by top-up cards. Check balance by typing *123#. Also top-ups are possible online with international credit cards here
Data feature plans[]
Standard rate is 10.5p per MB.
Similar to Sure and JT, Airtel-Vodafone gives out data as bonus or 'freebies' for top-ups. The following is for the Switch SIM:
| Top-up | Data | Voice&Text | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| £2.50 | 2 GB | 25 mins/SMS | 15 days |
| £5 | 5 GB | 50 mins/SMS | 10 days |
| £10 | 10 GB | 100 mins/SMS | 20 days |
| £20 | 20 GB | 250 mins/SMS | 30 days |
In contrast to the Switch Plan, the for the Island Plan SIM only two top-ups are offered:
- £9.50: unlimited local and UK calls and 10 GB data valid for 15 days
- £15: unlimited local and UK calls and 15 GB data valid for 30 days
The mentioned allowances are included for free, but valid only for a very limited time. Top-up face value comes additionally as credit. Credit and SIM card stay valid for 360 days between top-ups.
Data-only SIM[]
For data-only they give out a free 'Pay as you go data SIM'. It can be topped up with these values that translate directly into data packages:
- top-up of £5: 5 GB for 90 days
- top-up of £10: 15 GB for 90 days
- top-up of £20: 35 GB for 90 days
Data allowances will roll over if you perform a new top-up before the first one expires.
Example: You have 2 GB remaining and you do a £5 top-up. You will then have 7 GB valid for 90 days from the most recent top-up.
International Roaming[]
Data is at 18p per MB in the EU, UK and US. There are now two separate roaming add-ons available:
- £9.75 for 0.5 GB data, 25 outgoing minutes, unlimited incoming calls, and 25 SMS for 3 days
- £19.99 for 1 GB data, 50 outgoing minutes, unlimited incoming calls, and 50 SMS for 7 days
These add-ons are valid in the EU and EEA (except Norway and outer territories of EU countries), UK, Isle of Man, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the USA.
More info[]
- APN: airtel-ci-gprs.com
- Website: http://www.airtel-vodafone.com/