A data pack is extra mobile data you buy on top of your existing plan. The most common kind is a booster or top-up: when your daily allowance runs out before your cycle ends, you add a small pack (say a few GB) to keep going. There are also data-only packs designed for tablets, dongles or second devices that need internet but not calls, time-bound unlimited packs that give you unlimited data for a night, a weekend or a day, and larger bulk packs for heavy users or working from home. They all do the same basic job — more data — but differ in size, validity and price, which is what makes choosing the right one worth a moment's thought.

It depends on how often you run out. If you only occasionally fall short — a busy week here and there — a one-off booster is much cheaper than permanently moving to a bigger, pricier base plan. But if you run out of data every single month, those repeated boosters quietly add up, and over a few months they often cost more than simply upgrading to a plan with a larger allowance would have. The honest test is to look at your last few months: occasional top-ups mean stick with boosters; every-month top-ups mean it's time to size up your base plan. We'll do that comparison for you rather than letting you drip-feed money into add-ons.

This is the detail people most often miss. Most booster and add-on packs are tied to your base plan and expire the moment your plan's validity ends — so if your cycle resets in two days and you buy a big pack today, you'll lose whatever you haven't used. Some packs have their own short window (a day, or 30 days), and standalone data-only packs usually carry their own separate validity. The rule of thumb is to match the pack's life to when you'll actually use the data: near the end of your cycle, buy small; if you need data over a longer stretch, choose a pack with its own extended validity. We always flag the validity so you don't pay for data that expires unused.

On paper, yes — the cost per GB almost always drops as the pack gets bigger, so a 50GB pack looks far better value than a 6GB one. But that value is only real if you actually use the data before it expires; a cheap-per-GB pack you only half-finish is more expensive per GB you actually used than a smaller pack you fully consume. So the right question isn't "which pack is cheapest per GB?" but "which pack will I genuinely finish in its validity?" For a steady heavy user, big packs win; for an occasional top-up, a small pack is the smarter buy. We work out the value based on what you'll really use, not the headline per-GB rate.

A data-only pack gives you internet without bundled calls or SMS, which is exactly what a tablet, a 4G/5G dongle, a second data SIM or a device you only browse on needs — so you're not paying for a voice allowance you'll never touch. Time-bound unlimited packs, meanwhile, give you unlimited data for a short window like a day, a night or a weekend; they shine for a specific burst — downloading a large game or update, a movie-heavy travel day, or a work deadline — where a fixed-GB pack might run out but you don't want to change your whole plan. We match these to the specific situation so you spend the minimum for the job. This is general guidance rather than a binding quote, and prices, data and validity here are illustrative and change often and by circle. For your base tariff see our Prepaid SIM Plans and Postpaid Plans, and to cut mobile data use at home see our Home Internet pages.