In recent years, the UK mobile network market has seen significant consolidation, leaving fewer choices for consumers.
BT Mobile and Plusnet Mobile no longer exist, and Virgin Mobile has been removed from the market after its merger with O2. Vodafone and Three have also agreed on a merger, which will go ahead later this year pending regulator approval.
In addition, several smaller Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) have recently gone out of business, such as Vectone Mobile, which folded in December.
Mobile network market study
Here at Green Smartphones, we decided to find out exactly how many mobile network operators have entered and exited the market since 2014, to assess how recent consolidation and network shutdowns have affected the level of choice available to consumers.
To do this, we counted the number of B2C mobile network operators that offered services on the market on the 1st of January 2014, 2019, and 2024.
Raw data
| Company | Operating on 01/01/2014? | Operating on 01/01/2019? | Operating on 01/01/2024? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three | Y | Y | Y |
| Vodafone | Y | Y | Y |
| EE | Y | Y | Y |
| O2 | Y | Y | Y |
| 1pmobile | Y | Y | Y |
| A&A | Y | Y | Y |
| Anywhere SIM | N | Y | Y |
| Asda Mobile | Y | Y | Y |
| Boshhh | N | N | Y |
| CMLink | N | Y | Y |
| Ecotalk | Y | Y | Y |
| Fleur Telecom | N | Y | Y |
| GiffGaff | Y | Y | Y |
| Honest Nobile | N | N | Y |
| iD Mobile | N | Y | Y |
| IQ Mobile | N | Y | Y |
| Lebara | Y | Y | Y |
| Lyca Mobile | Y | Y | Y |
| Now Mobile | Y | Y | Y |
| POP Telecom | Y | Y | Y |
| Popit Mobile | N | N | Y |
| RWG Mobile | N | Y | Y |
| Sky Mobile | N | Y | Y |
| Smarty | N | Y | Y |
| spusu | N | N | Y |
| Superdrug Mobile | N | Y | Y |
| Talk Home Mobile | Y | Y | Y |
| TalkMobile | Y | Y | Y |
| Tesco Mobile | Y | Y | Y |
| The Phone Co-op | Y | Y | Y |
| UK Tell | N | N | Y |
| Utility Warehouse | Y | Y | Y |
| VOXI | N | Y | Y |
| AfriMobile | Y | Y | N |
| Allpay Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Banana Mobile | Y | N | N |
| BT Mobile | N | Y | N |
| Delight Mobile | Y | Y | N |
| Dialog Vizz | Y | N | N |
| Donate Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Econet Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Family Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Freedomtalk | Y | N | N |
| GT Mobile | Y | N | N |
| iCard Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Kontakt Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Mobile by Sainsbury's | Y | N | N |
| OurTel | Y | N | N |
| Ovivo Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Plusnet Mobile | N | Y | N |
| RSPCA Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Shebang | Y | N | N |
| Simple Call Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Talktalk Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Talkxtra | Y | N | N |
| The People's Operator (TPO Mobile) | Y | Y | N |
| Vectone Mobile | Y | Y | N |
| Victory Mobile | Y | N | N |
| Virgin Mobile | Y | Y | N |
| Vizz Africa | Y | N | N |
| White Mobile | Y | Y | N |
| Wildlife Mobile | Y | N | N |
Findings
Our research found:
- The number of mobile networks on the market has fallen by 25% – one in four – since 2014.
- The number of mobile networks on the market has fallen by nearly one in ten (8%) since 2019.
While new operators are entering the market, such as Spusu in 2023, a much larger number of companies have gone out of business, or been acquired by other networks, reducing the choice of SIM retailers available to consumers.
- Of the 40 UK mobile networks operating in 2014, less than half (17) are still in operation.
- Only six new MVNOs have entered the market since 2019, while eight have ceased operations.
In short, the level of choice available to consumers has dropped by nearly a quarter in the past decade, and the level of competition is continuing to fall.
While the number of providers has only fallen by 8% since 2019, many of the operators that ceased trading in this period were some of the largest MVNOs on the market, such as BT Mobile and Virgin Mobile.
If Three and Vodafone merge in Q4 2024, the reduction in market competition will be even more significant.
What happens when an MVNO ceases trading?
From our research, we found a number of instances where small MVNOs shut down completely, sometimes with no notice, leaving their customers scrambling to find another network. The most recent instance of this occurring was with Vectone Mobile in late 2023, which ceased trading suddenly without informing its customers, leaving many unable to make calls, send texts, or get online.
When BT shut down its Plusnet Mobile and BT Mobile brands, customers were encouraged to switch to EE. Virgin Mobile customers were automatically transferred to O2 SIM plans after the merger of the two companies.
While the level of service may be the same when consolidation or rebranding occurs, the level of choice is not. Although BT may argue that consolidating all of its mobile plans under EE makes the customer journey more streamlined, Plusnet Mobile was a budget operator, which often offered better prices than EE, with a different range of SIM plans to choose from.
Methodology
To find the number of MVNOs on the market, we used Companies House data, as well as Wayback Machine archives of different operators’ websites.
We included all networks that focused on selling mobile data packages to consumers in the UK, not including eSIM-only operators that operate globally and offer UK plans.
To assess whether a company was trading at a given point in time, we used its website to see if it was possible to purchase a SIM. We did this because often a company would cease trading months before it was shown as dissolved on the Companies House website.
It is possible that some companies adjudged to have been operating on a specific date were not in fact in operation or vice versa, due to the data sources we had to rely on for this research. For example, some networks may maintain their websites’ checkout functionality even after shutting down, making it difficult to assess whether or not they are still trading.