# UK mobile statistics: Edition 1, November 2026

Figures to 2026-10-31. Published by the Switchity Data Lab, https://switchity.co.uk/data/uk-mobile-statistics/. Switchity's own figures are CC BY 4.0; Ofcom, ONS and gov.uk figures are Open Government Licence v3.0.

## Ownership

- **UK adults who use a smartphone: 91%** (% of adults aged 16 and over). Period: 2025 survey wave. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Literacy Tracker 2025, data tables, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/data/statistics/2025/adults-media-literacy-tracker/amlt-2026/adults-media-literacy-2025-data-tables.pdf.
- **Online adults who go online only on a smartphone: 20%** (% of adults who use the internet). Period: 2025 survey wave. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2026, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/adults/adults-media-use-and-attitudes-2026/adults-media-use-and-attitudes-2026-report.pdf. Of adults who use the internet; 12% in 2019.
- **Time online a day, and the share spent on a smartphone: 4 hours 30 minutes a day; 77% of it on a smartphone** (see method). Period: May 2025. Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/online-habits/online-nation. 18 to 24s spend 6 hours 20 minutes a day online, 81% of it on a smartphone; over-65s 3 hours 20 minutes.
- **Smartphone makers' share of UK mobile web traffic: Apple 50.1%, Samsung 33.8%** (% of mobile page views). Period: October 2026. Source: StatCounter, StatCounter Global Stats, United Kingdom, mobile vendor market share, https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/united-kingdom. Share of UK mobile web page views in the month, from StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0). A traffic share, not phones sold or owned, and it moves several points month to month.
- **iOS and Android share of UK mobile web traffic: iOS 50.1%, Android 49.9%** (% of mobile page views). Period: October 2026. Source: StatCounter, StatCounter Global Stats, United Kingdom, mobile operating system market share, https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/united-kingdom. Share of UK mobile web page views in the month, from StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0). A traffic share, not phones sold or owned, and it moves several points month to month.

## Coverage

- **UK premises with outdoor 5G from all four operators: 64%** (% of premises). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026, mobile coverage, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-update-spring-2026. Ofcom rounds this to 64%, up from 47% in July 2025.
- **Outdoor 5G coverage of premises by operator: EE 94.3%, O2 86.2%, Three 75.9%, Vodafone 77.3%** (% of premises). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026, mobile coverage, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-update-spring-2026.
- **UK land area with 5G from at least one operator: 73%** (% of UK land area). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026, mobile coverage, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-update-spring-2026. Each operator on its own covers 23% to 56% of the land; all four together 13%. Premises coverage is far higher because people live where the masts are.
- **UK landmass with good 4G from all four operators: 84%** (% of landmass). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026, mobile coverage, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-update-spring-2026. Ofcom rounds this to 84% from all four and 96% from at least one.
- **4G coverage by operator: premises indoors, premises outdoors, landmass: Indoor premises: EE 96.8%, O2 95.5%, Three 96.6%, Vodafone 97.4%** (%). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026, mobile coverage, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-update-spring-2026.
- **Share of mobile data connection attempts made on 5G, by network: UK 24.2% on 5G; EE 33.9%, O2 23.8%, Three 19.2%, Vodafone 17%** (% of connection attempts). Period: August 2025 to July 2026. Source: Ofcom, Mobile Matters 2026, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/mobile-phones/mobile-matters. 75.2% of connection attempts were still on 4G; 0.7% on 2G or 3G. Three offered no 5G standalone in the period. Ofcom's figures, from Opensignal measurements.
- **A and B roads with 4G from all four operators: 74.1% of A and B roads, 92.3% of motorways** (% of road length). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026, mobile coverage, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-coverage/. Aggregated from Ofcom's local authority road coverage, weighted by road length. 4G from all four operators.
- **Best and worst councils for 4G from all four operators: Best Westminster (100%), worst Isles of Scilly (0%)** (% of premises). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations mobile data, aggregated for UK Mobile Coverage, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-coverage/.
- **Shared Rural Network: 4G masts live and landmass reached: More than 150 masts live; 4G on 95% of UK landmass** (see method). Period: 14 August 2026. Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Shared Rural Network progress announcement (gov.uk), https://www.gov.uk/government/news/150-rural-4g-masts-now-live-so-holidaymakers-can-switch-off-without-being-cut-off.
- **3G and 2G switch-off: 3G switched off; 2G goes from 2029** (see method). Period: Ofcom page updated 10 August 2026. Source: Ofcom, 3G and 2G switch-off, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/3g-switch-off. Virtual networks such as giffgaff, Tesco Mobile and Lebara follow their host network's dates.

## Notspots

- **Premises with no 4G from any operator: 106,404** (premises). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations mobile data, aggregated for UK Mobile Coverage, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-coverage/.
- **Premises with no outdoor voice coverage from any operator: 41,169** (premises). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations mobile data, aggregated for UK Mobile Coverage, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-coverage/.
- **Double not-spots: no decent broadband and no 4G: Worst seat Caerfyrddin (Wales): 2.1% without decent broadband, 3.5% without 4G** (premises). Period: January 2026 data. Source: Switchity, from Ofcom Connected Nations, Double not-spots by constituency and council, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-coverage/.

## Market

- **Active mobile subscriptions: 91.6m** (million). Period: 2026 Q2, quarter end. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. Excludes machine-to-machine connections.
- **Mobile retail revenue in the quarter: £3.72bn** (£ billion). Period: April to June 2026. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. Up 1% on a year earlier.
- **Average monthly revenue per mobile subscriber: £13.63 a month** (£ a month). Period: 2026 Q2. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update.
- **Pay-monthly share of mobile subscriptions: 75.9%** (% of subscriptions). Period: 2026 Q2, quarter end. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. 69.5m pay-monthly and 22.05m pre-pay subscriptions.
- **Mobile broadband subscriptions: 5.3m** (million). Period: 2026 Q2, quarter end. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. Dongles, hubs and tablets with their own SIM, counted separately from phone subscriptions.
- **Revenue per subscriber, pay-monthly and pre-pay: Pay-monthly £16.22, pre-pay £5.41** (£ a month). Period: 2026 Q2. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update.
- **Mobile call minutes in the quarter: 35.2bn minutes** (billion minutes). Period: April to June 2026. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. Down 5.1% on the same quarter a year earlier (37.09bn minutes).
- **Texts sent in the quarter: 4.51bn messages** (billion messages). Period: April to June 2026. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. Down 17.1% on the same quarter a year earlier (5.44bn messages).
- **Mobile data used per subscription a month, computed: 12 GB** (GB a month). Period: 2026 Q2. Source: Ofcom, Telecommunications Market Data Update (computed by Switchity from mobile tables 2 and 3), https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update. Computed by Switchity from Ofcom's tables: 3,294 PB over the quarter (up 13.2% on a year earlier), across 91.55m subscriptions.
- **Monthly mobile data traffic and the share carried on 5G: 1,257 PB a month, about 28% of it on 5G** (see method). Period: July 2025. Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations 2025, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-2025. Ofcom's analysis of the operators' own traffic data for the month of July 2025.

## Networks

- **UK mobile network operators: 3 networks** (networks). Period: Since 31 May 2025. Source: Vodafone Group, Completion of Vodafone and Three merger in the UK, https://www.vodafone.com/news/newsroom/corporate-and-financial/completion-of-vodafone-and-three-merger-in-the-uk. EE, O2 and VodafoneThree. Ofcom's coverage data still reports the Vodafone and Three networks separately.
- **Virtual operators by host network: 19 virtual operators on the four networks** (operators). Period: Ofcom's list updated 10 August 2026; operators' pages read 1 and 2 November 2026; owners' figures as dated. Source: Ofcom, 3G and 2G switch-off, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/3g-switch-off. Hosts from Ofcom's switch-off page and the operators' own pages and contract documents; owners and customer numbers from the owners' own accounts, results and sites. A virtual operator's coverage is its host's.

## Prices

- **SIM only deals on the Switchity panel: 392** (deals). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/. All 20 network names on the feed that day are in our SIM only catalogue.
- **Cheapest SIM only deal: £2.50 a month** (£ a month). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/. Mozillion
- **Cheapest unlimited data SIM: £12.42 a month** (£ a month). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/unlimited-data/. Three; 66 unlimited plans on the panel.
- **Pay-monthly customers on an unlimited data allowance: 20%** (% of pay-monthly customers). Period: Q2 2025. Source: Ofcom, Pricing trends for communications services, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/pricing-and-consumer-engagement. On the Switchity panel 17% of SIM only deals are unlimited (66 of 392).
- **Median price per 10GB of data: £2.04** (£ a month per 10GB). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/.
- **30-day SIM plans: 34%** (% of deals). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/30-day/. 132 of 392 deals; 0 of them carry a stated rise.
- **Cheapest SIM by data allowance: Under 5GB from £2.50; 5 to 20GB from £5; 20 to 100GB from £6; 100GB and over from £9; Unlimited from £12.42** (£ a month). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/.

## Rises

- **Networks with no stated mid-contract price rise: 16 of the 20 networks on the panel** (of networks on the panel). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-guides/.
- **12-month-plus SIM deals with no stated rise: 42%** (% of 12-month-plus deals). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/sim-only-deals/no-price-rise/. 109 of 260 deals of a year or longer.
- **Largest stated annual SIM price rise: £2.50 a month** (£ a month). Period: Snapshot 31 October 2026. Source: Switchity, SIM only panel snapshot, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-guides/. O2

## Bills

- **Mobile customers out of contract: 41%** (% of customers). Period: Q2 2025. Source: Ofcom, Pricing trends for communications services, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/pricing-and-consumer-engagement. All pay-monthly subscriptions: 41%; All handset & service contracts: 22%; All SIM-only subscriptions: 52%; SIM-only subscriptions >30 day minimum term: 43%
- **Average SIM only pay-monthly spend: £18.40 a month** (£ a month). Period: 2025 Q2. Source: Ofcom, Pricing trends for communications services, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/pricing-and-consumer-engagement. Nominal prices; the series has breaks where Ofcom's data tranches join.
- **Average mobile price, Ofcom basket: £11.61 a month** (£ a month). Period: July 2025. Source: Ofcom, Pricing trends for communications services, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/pricing-and-consumer-engagement. Tariffs open to a new customer, excluding handset costs and annual price rises, for average data use.
- **Pay-monthly customers using a fifth or less of their data: 55%** (% of pay-monthly customers). Period: Q2 2025. Source: Ofcom, Pricing trends for communications services, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/pricing-and-consumer-engagement. Share of allowance used in the month, from the networks' own customer data.
- **Mobile owners who had trouble affording it last month: 8%** (% of mobile owners). Period: Fieldwork 1 to 9 April 2026. Source: Ofcom, Communications Affordability Tracker, data tables, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/saving-money/affordability-tracker. 87 of 1,081 mobile owners; 6% of fixed broadband owners said the same of broadband.
- **Mobile services price inflation: 8.3%** (% change over 12 months). Period: 2026 SEP. Source: Office for National Statistics, CPI annual rate, mobile telephone services (MM23), https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/datasets/consumerpriceindices. CPI ANNUAL RATE 08.3.0.2 Wireless telephone services 2015=100
- **Mobile social tariffs available: 3 mobile social tariffs** (tariffs). Period: Ofcom's list as updated 2 October 2026. Source: Ofcom, Social tariffs, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/saving-money/social-tariffs. O2 Essential Plan £10, SMARTY Social Tariff £12, VOXI For Now £10 a month.

## Service

- **Complaints to Ofcom per 100,000 pay-monthly mobile customers: 2 per 100,000** (per 100,000). Period: April to June 2026. Source: Ofcom, Telecoms and pay-TV complaints, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/telecoms-and-pay-tv-complaints. Ofcom treats providers within one complaint of each other as comparable; its grouping is shown with the table.
- **Customer satisfaction with mobile provider: 88%** (% satisfied). Period: 2024 customer experience. Source: Ofcom, Comparing customer service 2025, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/phones-telecoms-and-internet/comparing-service-quality/2025/comparing-customer-service-mobile-home-broadband-and-landline.pdf. The four networks whose figures Ofcom's text states; the full table is in the report.
- **Trustpilot scores of the mobile networks: Vodafone 4.7 to O2 2.8, read 11 September 2026 and 1 November 2026** (TrustScore out of 5). Period: Profiles read 11 September 2026 and 1 November 2026. Source: Trustpilot, Network profile pages, read on the date shown, https://uk.trustpilot.com/. A customer-review score read from each profile on the date shown, not a regulator's measure.
- **Which ADR scheme each network belongs to: Communications Ombudsman: EE, giffgaff, iD Mobile, Lebara, Lyca Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Utility Warehouse. CISAS: O2, SMARTY, Three, Vodafone, VOXI, Sky (Sky Mobile).** (see method). Period: Ofcom's list as updated 6 August 2026. Source: Ofcom, Alternative dispute resolution schemes, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/adr-schemes.

## Switching

- **Households that switched mobile provider in the past 12 months: 16%** (% of households). Period: 2025. Source: Ofcom, Pricing trends for communications services, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/bills-and-charges/pricing-and-consumer-engagement. Decision-makers for the household's mobile service; Ofcom's Switching Tracker, fieldwork each August and September.
- **Networks with EU roaming included: 13 of the 20 networks we list** (of networks on the panel). Period: Catalogue checked 28 August 2026. Source: Switchity, Roaming catalogue, verified against operator pages, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-guides/. 6 charge a daily fee or an add-on in the EU, and 1 (Community Fibre) does not work abroad at all. Caps and fair-use limits differ by network.
- **Networks offering eSIM: 16 of the 20 networks we list** (of networks on the panel). Period: Catalogue checked 26 August 2026. Source: Switchity, eSIM catalogue, verified against operator pages, https://switchity.co.uk/mobile-guides/. 2 offer one to existing customers only or with limits; 2 do not offer one yet.

Cite as: Switchity Data Lab (2026). uk mobile statistics, Edition 1, November 2026. https://switchity.co.uk/data/uk-mobile-statistics/