The number of mobile networks in Uk can be overwhelming especially when every network provider says that they offer the best service. Each provider has its own set of extras and perks to attract you, But ultimately you should decide what you are looking for. Having said that reliable signal, good speed and quality customer service are three things that can not be ignored.
TYPE OF NETWORK PLANS
In the UK market, you can find two types of mobile network plans
- Contract plans
- commitment-free sims
contract plans come with a fixed term commitment ranging from 12 to 36 months. This can be either
- phone contracts ( with the mobile phone) – You will pay for the phone and the network over a fixed term. This can be expensive but the cost is spread over a period.
- sim only contracts – This can be cheaper than a pay as you go plans. But you are lock into commitments of at least 1 year
commitment-free sims can be
- 30-day rolling plans
- pay as you go plans
NETWORK PROVIDERS
four network providers have a monopoly in the market and they own a slice of the UK mobile signal spectrum. These companies are called big four which includes. EE mobile, Three mobile, O2 and Vodafone. All the other providers use one of these networks to provide their service. This is called piggybacking and these service providers called MVNO (mobile virtual network operator)
MVNO inherits the network coverage from their main supplier but most of the time provide the service to a discounted price. following are the main MVNO and their main suppliers.
- Vodafone: Allpay Mobile, Cortel Telephone, Glemnet, Highnet, Lebara Mobile, Ownphone, Talk Mobile, TalkTalk Mobile, Zest4 Mobile
Three: iD Mobile, Candy Telecom, Globalgig, The People’s Operator
EE: ASDA Mobile, Axis Mobile, BT Mobile, Delight Mobile, Natterbox, The Phone Coop, Plusnet Mobile, Vectone Mobile, Virgin Mobile
O2: Giffgaff, Lyca Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile
COVERAGE
You may be offered the most attractive package but quite pointless if you don’t get proper service.
According to the Root Metrics, EE has the best mobile coverage across the UK. Vodafone is the second-best when coming to coverage., Three is third in Wales and England whereas O2, is third in Northern Ireland and Scotland. However overall network coverage doesn’t mean anything if you don’t get service to the place where you live. To find the coverage in your area you can use the Ofcom coverage checker
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
If coverage is the first thing to consider when picking up a mobile network customer service is a close second in which’s customer service satisfaction survey utility warehouse and Gifgaff topped the list.
In UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) both Giffgaff and Tesco Mobile scored higher than average for value for money and customer recommendations
following are our best picks for 2020-2021
SMARTY MOBILE
Smarty mobile is an immediate eye-catching network which offers sim only plans for a highly competitive price. All smarty plans come with unlimited calls and SMS. When you are with smarty you are completely commitment-free. Plan length is just one month hence no contract, you can change plans in any time, pay in advanced and enjoy flexibility
smarty is very generous in the amount of data in their plans. It’s £10 plan which includes 30Gb of data, unlimited calls and SMS is probably the best sim only plan you can get in the market from any network. with smarty, you never run out of data if you exceed your limit you can add on data at a rate of £1 per GB. Smarty also offers an attractive unused data buy back in some plans. It uses Three mobile network hence their coverage. They have earned 4 stars in trust pilot rating and named as the best sim only network in 2020 in uSwitch mobile awards
GIFFGAFF
Highly commended by most of the customer satisfaction surveys Giffgaff is one of the cheapest in the market.
They only offer 30-day rolling sim only plans and their unique monthly plan is called a goody bag. If you are planning short or medium-term stay in UK Giffgaff is one of the top choices if not the best. With Giffgaff you are commitment-free and can change or cancel your connection anytime you want. You can step up or step down your plan monthly depending on your data usage and Giffgaff will suggest you the best plan for you depending on your usage. Giffgaff also offers you a good range of used phones if you are looking for a budget phone for a monthly payment scheme.
Giffgaff uses o2 network so inherits there coverage which is 99% combined 4G and 3G coverage.
2. TESCO MOBILE
Tesco mobile has the best customer satisfaction review and has reached 5 million customers within a short period of time. It also has the lowest customer complaint rating for 100000 customers
Tesco mobile offers contract as well as pay as you go plans and their sim only plans start as low as £ 7.5. Tesco mobile also adds one club card points for every pound you spend on your mobile.
VODAFONE
Vodafone is one of the big four mobile companies and offers the widest selection of phones for their contracts. Vodafone allows free-roaming for 75 destinations and has both sim only or phone contracts.
EE MOBILE
Born out of merge between t-mobile and orange, EE mobile is the largest provider with the highest coverage. Up to date it has 32 million customers and offers contract, sim only and pay as you go plans where the cheapest plan starts at £ 5.
Since it is owned by BT, EE customers get free access to BT sport app for first three months. You get Apple Music free for six months if you get a contract.
O2 MOBILE
O2 is one of the big four and currently has 24 million customers. It offers a large range of deals
SKY MOBILE
Sky uses the o2 network hence coverage similar to o2. It is the only network that gives you data separated from calls. Data packages start from £6 for 1gb. Sky only has unlimited call connections. If you have sky TV You have unlimited streaming from your mobile phone.
THREE MOBILE
Three mobile is one of the big four and offers data-heavy deals with attractive options
If you have a mobile sim plan more than 12GB it allows unlimited use of data on a selected range of apps including Netflix, Snapchat, TV player, Apple music and sound cloud. however, this currently costs £14, so not so cheap.
VIRGIN MOBILE
Virgin mobile is the first mvno. It uses the EE network and has a good range of deals. Virgin customers are allowed to use Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Twitter in the UK without utilizing their data allowance. however, video and voice calls from WhatsApp and Facebook messenger are excluded from this.
ID MOBILE
Owned by car phone wear house ID mobile offers sim only deals starting from £4 a month. They only have 30-day rolling plans but can get a contract phone if you want to.