How many people in the UK have a smartphone?

91% of UK adults aged 16 and over use a smartphone, according to Ofcom's Adults' Media Literacy Tracker (2025 survey wave). 3% have no mobile phone at all. Ownership is lowest among the 75 and over, at 56%. This counts people, not connections: there are more subscriptions than adults.

What percentage of the UK has 5G coverage?

64% of UK premises had outdoor 5G from all four networks Ofcom measures in January 2026, and 98% from at least one, according to Ofcom's Connected Nations update published 13 May 2026. By network: EE 94.3%, O2 86.2%, Vodafone 77.3%, Three 75.9%. Measured by land area rather than premises, 5G from at least one network reaches 73% of the UK.

How much of the UK has 4G from every network?

84% of the UK's land area had good 4G from all four networks in January 2026, and 96% from at least one, according to Ofcom. 106,404 premises have no 4G from any network.

How much mobile data does the average person use in the UK?

Dividing Ofcom's quarterly mobile data volume by its subscription count gives about 12 GB per subscription (2026 Q2); that is our calculation from Ofcom's tables, not an Ofcom figure. Ofcom's own measure is total traffic: 1,257 PB a month, about 28% of it on 5G (Connected Nations 2025).

What is the average mobile phone bill in the UK?

Ofcom's Pricing trends research puts average SIM only pay-monthly spend at £18.40 a month (2025 Q2, nominal). Its standard-usage basket prices mobile service at £11.61 a month (July 2025). Across every subscription, including pre-pay, networks took £13.63 a month per subscriber in 2026 Q2 (Ofcom market data). Handset contracts cost more because they include the phone.

What is the cheapest SIM only deal?

On the Switchity panel the cheapest pay-monthly SIM only deal is £2.50 a month, from Mozillion (Snapshot 31 October 2026). The cheapest unlimited data SIM is £12.42 a month. Prices are the advertised monthly price on the snapshot date.

Which mobile networks raise prices mid-contract?

16 of the 20 networks on the panel on the Switchity panel state no mid-contract price rise in their terms (Snapshot 31 October 2026). 42% of SIM deals of a year or longer carry no stated rise. The largest stated annual rise is £2.50 a month. Since January 2025 any rise must be stated in pounds and pence at the point of sale.

How many UK mobile customers are out of contract?

41% of pay-monthly mobile customers were out of contract in Q2 2025, according to Ofcom's Pricing trends chart data. All pay-monthly subscriptions: 41%; All handset & service contracts: 22%; All SIM-only subscriptions: 52%; SIM-only subscriptions >30 day minimum term: 43%.

Which mobile network gets the fewest complaints?

In April to June 2026 the industry average was 2 per 100,000 pay-monthly customers. EE (aggregrate of T-Mobile, Orange & 4GEE), Giffgaff, iD Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Vodafone had the fewest at 1, and Sky Mobile the most at 3. Ofcom treats networks within one complaint of each other as comparable, so a difference of one is not a ranking.

How many mobile network operators are there in the UK?

3 networks run their own networks: EE (BT Group), O2 (Virgin Media O2), VodafoneThree, since Vodafone and Three completed their merger on 31 May 2025. Every other brand, from giffgaff to Tesco Mobile, rents capacity from one of them. Ofcom's coverage data still reports the four networks separately.

Which network do giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile and the other virtual operators use?

Utility Warehouse, Lyca Mobile, 1pMobile, Ecotalk, Your Co-op Mobile, BT Mobile use the EE network; Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, Sky Mobile, Monzo Mobile use the O2 network; iD Mobile, SMARTY, Superdrug Mobile, Honest Mobile use the Three network; VOXI, Talkmobile, Lebara, Asda Mobile, Revolut Mobile use the Vodafone network. Hosts are as listed on Ofcom's switch-off page and the operators' own sites (Ofcom's list updated 10 August 2026; operators' pages read 1 and 2 November 2026; owners' figures as dated); a virtual operator's coverage is its host's, but its speeds and 5G access can be limited by its wholesale deal.

Which UK networks offer eSIM and free EU roaming?

16 of the 20 networks we list on the Switchity panel offer an eSIM to new customers. 13 of the 20 networks we list include EU roaming in the plan, with caps that differ by network. Both counts come from our catalogues, checked against each network's own pages on the date shown on the card.

UK Mobile Statistics (November 2026)

Find a figure

54 figures

Headline figures

Every card names its publisher and period; the full source list is at the end of the page.

Ownership and use

91%

UK adults who use a smartphone

% of adults aged 16 and over

Ofcom · 2025 survey wave · published 28 January 2026 · next early 2027

Network	Premises, indoors	Premises, outdoors	Land area
EE	96.8%	99.7%	90%
O2	95.5%	99.6%	89.1%
Three	96.6%	99.8%	92.8%
Vodafone	97.4%	99.8%	91.9%
At least one network	99.7%	100%	96.2%
All four networks	90.7%	99.2%	83.6%

Council	Nation	A roads covered
Isles of Scilly	England	0%
Maldon	England	42.4%
Mid Ulster	Northern Ireland	48.3%
Fenland	England	50.9%
Fermanagh and Omagh	Northern Ireland	51.4%

Council	Nation	Indoor 4G, all four
Westminster	England	100%
Lambeth	England	100%
Southwark	England	100%
Derby	England	100%
Kensington and Chelsea	England	100%

Operator	2G switch-off
EE	From May 2029
O2	From summer 2029
VodafoneThree	During 2030 (the Vodafone network; Three has no 2G)
All operators	By 2033 at the latest

Constituency	Nation	No decent broadband	No 4G from any network	No outdoor voice
Caerfyrddin	Wales	2.1%	3.5%	2.4%
Na H-Eileanan An Iar	Scotland	2.8%	2%	1.9%
Ceredigion Preseli	Wales	1.6%	4.1%	2.8%
Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr	Wales	1.5%	2.7%	1.5%
Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe	Wales	1.5%	2%	1.5%
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber	Scotland	2.3%	1.4%	1%
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	Scotland	1.4%	1.4%	1.4%
Torridge and Tavistock	England	1.3%	2.3%	1.3%
Orkney and Shetland	Scotland	1.8%	1.3%	1.3%
Central Devon	England	1.2%	2.5%	1.3%

Operator	Owner	Customers (published)	On our panel
Utility Warehouse	Telecom Plus	787,426 mobile services (March 2026)	No
Lyca Mobile	Lyca Group	Not published	Yes
1pMobile	Telecom Plus	Not published	No
Ecotalk	Ecotalk Limited	Not published	Yes
Your Co-op Mobile	The Midcounties Co-operative	Not published	No
BT Mobile	BT Group	Not published	No

Operator	Owner	Customers (published)	On our panel
Tesco Mobile	Tesco and Virgin Media O2, 50:50	Over 5.5 million (Tesco Mobile's own figure)	Yes
giffgaff	Virgin Media O2	4,260,368 (December 2025)	Yes
Sky Mobile	Sky	Not published	Yes
Monzo Mobile	Monzo Bank; service provided by MM Wireless Ltd (1GLOBAL)	Not published	No

Operator	Owner	Customers (published)	On our panel
iD Mobile	Currys	2.6 million (May 2026)	Yes
SMARTY	Three (VodafoneThree)	Not published	Yes
Superdrug Mobile	Superdrug Stores plc	Not published	No
Honest Mobile	Honest Enterprises Limited	More than 100,000 (its own site, 2026)	No

Operator	Owner	Customers (published)	On our panel
VOXI	Vodafone (VodafoneThree)	1 million (March 2025)	Yes
Talkmobile	Vodafone (VodafoneThree)	Not published	Yes
Lebara	Lebara Group (Waterland Private Equity)	Not published	Yes
Asda Mobile	Asda	Not published	Yes
Revolut Mobile	Revolut; service provided by Gigs U.K. Ltd	Not published	Yes

Data allowance	Deals	Cheapest	Network
Under 5GB	33	£2.50	Mozillion
5 to 20GB	49	£5	Mozillion
20 to 100GB	166	£6	iD Mobile
100GB and over	78	£9	iD Mobile
Unlimited	66	£12.42	Three

Mobile social tariffs
Network	Tariff	A month
O2	Essential Plan	£10
SMARTY	Social Tariff	£12
VOXI	For Now	£10

TrustScores of the four network operators
Network	TrustScore	Reviews	Read
Vodafone	4.7	142,030	11 September 2026
Three	4.6	67,870	11 September 2026
EE	4.3	118,052	11 September 2026
O2	2.8	25,815	1 November 2026

EU roaming by network
EU roaming	Networks
Included in the plan	Asda mobile, Grade Mobile, Lebara, Lyca Mobile, Mozillion, O2, Revolut Mobile, Smarty, Talkmobile, Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, iD Mobile, spusu
Charged	Ecotalk (£2 a day), Rewild Mobile (£2.95 a day), Sky Mobile (£2 a day), Three (£2.75 a day), Vodafone (£2.75 a day), Voxi (£2.60 a day)

File	What is in it	Licence	Get
uk-mobile-statistics-2026-11.csv	Every figure in this edition, one row each, with value, period, dates, source URL, licence and method	OGL v3.0 and CC BY 4.0	CSV
uk-mobile-statistics-2026-11.json	The same edition as machine-readable JSON, one record per figure with stable ids and the series held	OGL v3.0 and CC BY 4.0	JSON
uk-mobile-statistics-2026-11.md	A plain-text edition for assistants and quick reading	OGL v3.0 and CC BY 4.0	Markdown
uk-mobile-statistics-latest.json	Always the newest edition, same shape, for anything that reads us monthly	OGL v3.0 and CC BY 4.0	JSON

Scheme	Networks
Communications Ombudsman	EE, giffgaff, iD Mobile, Lebara, Lyca Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Utility Warehouse
CISAS	O2, SMARTY, Three, Vodafone, VOXI, Sky

eSIM	Networks
Offered to new customers	Community Fibre, Ecotalk, Lyca Mobile, O2, Revolut Mobile, Rewild Mobile, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Talkmobile, Tesco Mobile, Three, Vodafone, Voxi, giffgaff, iD Mobile, spusu
Existing customers only, or with limits	Asda mobile, Lebara
Not yet	Grade Mobile, Mozillion

UK mobile statistics

Headline figures

UK adults who use a smartphone

Active mobile subscriptions

UK premises with outdoor 5G from all four operators

Cheapest SIM only deal

Networks with no stated mid-contract price rise

Complaints to Ofcom per 100,000 pay-monthly mobile customers

Smartphone ownership and use in the UK

UK adults who use a smartphone

Online adults who go online only on a smartphone

Time online a day, and the share spent on a smartphone

Smartphone makers' share of UK mobile web traffic

iOS and Android share of UK mobile web traffic

5G and 4G coverage in the UK

UK premises with outdoor 5G from all four operators

Outdoor 5G coverage of premises by operator

UK premises, outdoors

Rural premises, outdoors

UK land area with 5G from at least one operator

UK landmass with good 4G from all four operators

4G coverage by operator: premises indoors, premises outdoors, landmass

Share of mobile data connection attempts made on 5G, by network

A and B roads with 4G from all four operators

Best and worst councils for 4G from all four operators

Shared Rural Network: 4G masts live and landmass reached

3G and 2G switch-off

Every council and constituency, network by network

Mobile not-spots in the UK

Premises with no 4G from any operator

Premises with no outdoor voice coverage from any operator

Double not-spots: no decent broadband and no 4G

How many mobile subscriptions are there in the UK?

Active mobile subscriptions

Mobile retail revenue in the quarter

Average monthly revenue per mobile subscriber

Pay-monthly share of mobile subscriptions

Mobile broadband subscriptions

Revenue per subscriber, pay-monthly and pre-pay

Mobile call minutes in the quarter

Texts sent in the quarter

Mobile data used per subscription a month, computed

Monthly mobile data traffic and the share carried on 5G

Which network does each mobile provider use?

UK mobile network operators

Virtual operators by host network

SIM only deal prices on the Switchity panel

SIM only deals on the Switchity panel

Cheapest SIM only deal

Cheapest unlimited data SIM

Pay-monthly customers on an unlimited data allowance

Median price per 10GB of data

30-day SIM plans

Cheapest SIM by data allowance

The deals behind the figures

Mobile contract price rises

Networks with no stated mid-contract price rise

12-month-plus SIM deals with no stated rise

Largest stated annual SIM price rise

Average mobile phone bill, inflation and affordability

Mobile customers out of contract

Average SIM only pay-monthly spend

Average mobile price, Ofcom basket

Pay-monthly customers using a fifth or less of their data

Mobile owners who had trouble affording it last month

Mobile services price inflation

Mobile social tariffs available

Mobile network complaints by provider

Complaints to Ofcom per 100,000 pay-monthly mobile customers

Customer satisfaction with mobile provider

Trustpilot scores of the mobile networks

Which ADR scheme each network belongs to

Mobile switching, roaming and eSIM

Households that switched mobile provider in the past 12 months

Networks with EU roaming included

Networks offering eSIM

Downloads and API

Methodology

Official figures

Panel figures