Why is this important? The information we provide differs between countries. To get information for your country, please select from the dropdown.

Choosing a mobile phone provider

There are five major mobile phone networks and hundreds of different deals and price plans so choosing a mobile phone can be complicated. This page gives you the information you need to choose a mobile phone provider.

Top tips

When you choose a mobile phone provider you’ll need to think about how you use your phone:

  • how many minutes you spent on the phone each month and whether most were during the day, in the evening or at weekends
  • the number of texts you send per month
  • the amount of time spent surfing the internet via your mobile phone.

This is important because you’ll need to find a price plan that matches the way you use your phone.  

What’s a mobile phone network?

A mobile phone network provides the technology that allows your mobile phone to work. Your mobile phone needs a SIM card, a small microchip which contains all the information that makes your phone work. This SIM card is linked to a mobile phone network and it’s the network that allows mobile phones to communicate with each other. There are five major UK mobile phone networks:

  • Three
  • Orange
  • O2
  • Vodafone
  • T-Mobile

There are several other mobile phone networks, but they are all owned by one of the five main companies. These mobile networks have different names but use one of the major networks. These mobile networks are called Mobile Virtual Network Operators. For example Tesco is a mobile virtual network operator, using the O2 network.

Why does it matter which network you use?

The coverage of your mobile phone network decides the strength of your phone signal. It’s important to make sure there is good coverage in your area before you sign a contract that locks you into a particular network. It’s particularly important if you’re in the countryside, or in rural areas of Wales and Scotland, where you might find your options are more limited because of poor network coverage.

You can do a postcode check on the providers’ websites but it’s also a good idea to ask friends and colleagues in your area which service they use.

What kind of mobile phone service is best for you?

There are three main ways of paying for your mobile phone calls and other services:

  • mobile phone contracts – where you agree to pay a fixed monthly amount to cover your phone services and your handset for between 12 and 24 months
  • pay-as-you-go – where you pay for your mobile services in advance and you aren’t tied into paying for a certain amount of calls and texts each month  
  • SIM-only services – where you just buy a network operator's mobile phone services and you usually have to provide your own phone handset.

Which type of service you choose will depend on whether you want to be tied into a long contract and how much you use your mobile phone.

How do you use your phone?

If this is your first phone, think about how you’re likely to use it.

If you already have a mobile phone look at your monthly statements for the last three to six months. Look at how many minutes you spent on the phone each month and whether most were during the day, in the evening or at weekends.

Also look at the number of texts you sent per month and where appropriate the amount of time spent surfing the internet via your mobile phone.

You will need to match your usage to your tariff rate so you don’t end up paying for free minutes you won’t use or paying penalties if you go over your monthly limit.

Choosing a price plan

Choosing the right tariff rate is the most important thing to look at when you choose a mobile phone service, because choosing the wrong one can cost you a lot of money. The tariff rate is the costs of the calls and texts, access to the internet, plus any free calls or texts that are added as a bonus.

There are hundreds of mobile phone tariffs to choose from, so one of the best ways to narrow down your list of possible choices is to use a price comparison website. You can compare the costs of pay-as-you-go and SIM-only services with mobile phone contracts.

Next steps

Other useful information

Citizens Advice

Rate this page Give feedback