Originally Posted by
joshwex90
First, pay-as-you-go is postpaid in Europe and Israel. That's why I was asking if there's something similar. You don't need to have paid in advance just like most cellphone plans where you pay at the end of the month.
Next, my concern isn't just running out of credit. I also don't want lose the number if there's no use on the line for an extended period of time
Not in the UK it isn't. Pay As You Go in the UK is exactly the same as prepaid is everywhere else. They don't sell prepaid in the UK at all because the term they use is Pay As You Go or Pay As You Talk. Postpaid is just what it says you pay for service after you use it, i.e. you are billed for service.
Whether or not you lose the number is not the point here. Pay As You Go means you have to pay for your service in advance before you can use it in other words it's a prepaid service. You are not billed for PAYG service.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepaid_mobile_phone