Best UK mobile network - Picking the best UK mobile carrier - Android
All of the biggest UK mobile networks offer increasingly-fast data speeds and coverage reaching the vast majority of the population. That’s made picking the best deal a little tougher, as there are plenty of bundles available to suit all data and calling needs.
More UK mobile content: Best Android phones you can buy in the UK | Where to buy phones in the UK: Unlocked and on-contract
There’s also a growing market outside of the big four, offering some excellent value for money data packages, especially if you already have an unlocked handset ready to go. Here’s our rundown of the biggest mobile networks in the UK to help you decide which one is the best UK mobile network for you.
EE
EE was the leading UK mobile carrier during the rollout of the nation’s 4G LTE networks and has continued to be the biggest mobile network in the UK ever since. It was acquired by the BT Group in January 2016 following a merger between Orange UK and T-Mobile UK in 2010, and boasts a large retail store presence up and down the country. The company has also branched out into home and mobile broadband, as well as TV packages.
The carrier boasts 4G voice and data coverage across more than 90 percent of the UK’s geography and more than 99 percent of its population, giving it excellent coverage up and down the country. EE also supports 4G Calling (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi Calling for top notch sounding calls. EE was also the first UK mobile network to offer 5G plans, starting its 5G rollout from May 2019. EE tops all of this off with Swappable Benefits including BT Sport access, and no extra charges for using your minutes, texts, and data across the EU.
As well as contract options for the latest smartphones, EE offers Pay as you go and SIM only packages for phones and tablets. You can find out more about EE’s plans and deals in our EE network review.
O2 is an older player among the UK mobile networks. Once known as Cellnet, the formerly BT Group-owned carrier is the second largest network in the UK. It offers plenty fast 4G networking and has 99 percent of the population covered with its network.
O2 also offers some unique propositions for customers with its flexible tariffs on device contracts that make upgrading early much cheaper and easier. But the carrier really aims to differentiate itself with a bag of perks for its customers. This includes priority access to O2-sponsored venues and events, discounts on a rotating selection of products, the helpful O2 Guru service, and free access to the 15,000 O2 Wi-Fi hotspots dotted around the country.
For data plans, O2 offers a variety of PAYG, monthly, international, and tablet SIM options. O2 also supports 5G in six major cities with flexible contracts on 5G phones with the option for unlimited data. You can find out more about O2’s plans and deals in our O2 network review.
As the youngest of the biggest networks, Three historically hasn’t had the fastest or broadest coverage. However, Three has rapidly gained ground in recent years and offers a couple of major benefits on some of its packages.
Three’s Go Roam initiative allows customers to use call, text, and data allowances in over 70 destinations around the world, including non-EU countries like the US, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. Go Binge is similar to T-Mobile’s Binge On in the U.S. — it doesn’t count a number of media streaming services against your data allowance. Services include Netflix, Apple Music, Snapchat, and more. The carrier also offers some of the cheapest PAYG rates in the UK, at 3p a minute for calls, 2p per text, and 1p for each MB of data.
Three offers some of the best value, no-nonsense deals for those looking for a contract with one of the big four infrastructure carriers. Until Vodafone revised its plans in mid-2019, Three was unique among the biggest networks in the UK in that it offers unlimited data plans on phone and SIM only deals. It still has some of the best value deals on the market though. You can find out more about Three’s plans and deals in our Three network review.
Vodafone is another of the legacy UK mobile networks and across much of Europe. It covers 99 percent of the population with a 4G LTE signal and looks primed to lead the pack on 5G after winning big during Ofcom’s first 5G spectrum auction. It became the second network to rollout 5G in selected cities in mid-2019 and is currently the only carrier to make all of its contract plans 5G ready as standard and offer unlimited 5G data.
Vodafone Global Roaming allows customers to take their UK data, minutes, and texts across to over 40 destinations (mostly across Europe) for all pay monthly plans. Vodafone also offers subscriptions to either Amazon Prime Video, Spotify Premium, Now TV, or Sky Sports Mobile TV on selected contract deals.
Vodafone offers a selection of SIM only options on 12-month or 30-day plans, as well as a traditional PAYG option with monthly rollover. You can find out more about Vodafone’s plans and deals in our Vodafone network review.
The big four offer a competitive selection of deals, a wide range of the latest handsets, direct access to the fastest and biggest 4G coverage, and will soon serve up super-fast 5G data speeds. However, the UK is also full of smaller virtual network operators that piggyback on these same networks, yet can use collective bargaining power to work out some cheaper deals and more flexible packages.
We’re not listing all of the Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) here because there are just so many. Instead, these are the best virtual networks out there that you should check out if you want to shop around for a deal that perfectly suits you.
BT Mobile is one of the newer UK carriers and unsurprisingly piggybacks off the BT Group-owned EE. One of the big draws of BT Mobile is unlimited access to the network’s BT Wi-Fi hotspots dotted around the country. BT Mobile also uniquely offers Family SIM packages, which offer big discounts for multiple users, and everyone gets their own separate data allowance.
Discounts are offered to BT TV, landline, and broadband customers, which will save you £5 per month on monthly plans. If you’re just looking for a SIM only deal the lowest cost option starts at £14 per month for 1GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. The top-tier “Max Plan” bumps this up to 40GB of 4G data for £40 per month, or you can grab a 3 SIM family pack on the same plan for £80 per month.
Virgin Mobile may have been the first ever MVNO network in the UK, but it was slow to offer its customers 4G LTE data. That’s all changed in more recent years as it has benefitted from EE’s growth to give its mobile customers a wide coverage net. Virgin has positioned itself as one of the more flexible carriers, allowing users to roll-over their unused data, and switch between different packages each month. Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and WhatsApp data usage also doesn’t count against your data allowance, which might be something to consider if you’re a prolific GIF sender or video caller.
In terms of prices, the cheapest SIM only contract begins at just £7 offering 1,500 minutes, unlimited texts, and 1GB of data. This ramps up to a plan with unlimited minutes, texts, and data for £27 per month — though this is exclusive to Virgin Media broadband or TV customers.
GiffGaff has been one of the more popular UK mobile carriers outside the big four owing to the flexibility and competitive prices of its SIM only plans. Unlike most other carriers in the UK, GiffGaff customers can cancel or switch between different payment plans every month or renew early to top up their allowance.
4G LTE data plans start from as little as £6 for 500MB of data, 300 call minutes, and 500 texts. The top £20 package offers unlimited calls and texts, and always-on data with a 384 Kbps data cap after the first 20GB. Customers looking to purchase new phones can either buy unlocked models upfront or through monthly payment options at comparable prices to other carriers. The carrier is owned by O2 and piggybacks on its network.
Just like GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile also runs on the O2 network, and is a popular UK mobile choice for low-cost 4G data packages. However, it offers more traditional 12-month fixed term contracts. Its cheapest SIM only deals start at £7.50 for 2GB, 500 minutes, and 5000 text message, spread over a 12 month contract. Data lovers can opt for 50GB, 5000 minutes, and 5000 texts for the most expensive £35 per month contract, with a selection of options in between.
The company also offers a range of the latest smartphones online and in stores with flexible tariffs similar to O2. Customers also receive ClubCard points on their purchases and contracts, which might be handy if you’re a regular supermarket shopper.
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