Networks like 1pMobile, IQ Mobile, Lyca Mobile, Spusu and Talk Home piggyback on EE’s network for coverage.

If you’d like to access EE’s coverage on your mobile phone, it isn’t always necessary to be an EE customer. That’s because a number of other mobile networks also offer EE coverage – often at a much lower price.

For instance, you can access an EE mobile signal when you’re using a SIM card from 1p Mobile, IQ Mobile, Lyca Mobile, spusu or Talk Home Mobile. That’s because the five mobile networks piggyback on EE for coverage.

In this article, we’ll look at the mobile networks that offer coverage from EE. We’ll start by looking at the best value deals with EE coverage including SIM-only deals, unlimited data plans and Pay As You Go deals. We’ll then look at each mobile network in more detail, including the specific features and benefits they offer.

EE Coverage: 99% UK population coverage
Networks Using EE:
Best SIM Only Plans:

(one-month rolling contract)

Best Unlimited Data Plan: £29.90 for unlimited data on Spusu
(1-month contract with no credit check & 5G coverage from EE)
Best For Roaming: Inclusive EU & India data roaming on Lyca Mobile
(up to 12GB on limited data plans, 35GB on unlimited plans)
Best for Customer Benefits: 6 months Apple Music on EE & plans with Inclusive Extras
Best Pay As You Go Plan: 1p/minute, 1p/text & 1p/MB on 1pMobile
(no credit check, minimum spend of £10 every 60 days)

Overview of Networks Using EE

If you’re looking to get EE’s coverage on your mobile phone, there are currently five other mobile networks that you’re able to join, besides EE themselves. These networks are 1p Mobile, IQ Mobile, Lyca Mobile, Spusu and Talk Home.

Regardless of the provider you choose, you’ll have access to the same EE coverage. However, the price of your plan may be different, along with the customer benefits (such as roaming, or inclusive entertainment).

The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of mobile networks that offer coverage from EE:

Mobile Network Plans From EE Coverage Key Features
1p Mobile 1p/minute, 1p/text & 1p/MB 5G
  • No monthly fee & no credit check
EE £10/month 5G
  • Savings for EE broadband customers
  • Inclusive Smart Benefits on EE Smart
  • 6 months free Apple Music
IQ Mobile £7/month 5G
Lyca Mobile £5.90/month 5G
  • No credit check & introductory offers
spusu £1/month 5G
  • No credit check
Talk Home Mobile £5/month 5G
  • No credit check

Best SIM Only Deals

If you’re looking for a low-cost SIM-only plan with EE coverage, the best value plans can typically be found on Lyca Mobile and Spusu. Both of them offer one-month rolling plans, with 4G & 5G coverage from the EE network.

Network Data Monthly Cost
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
5GB
data
£1.00
for 3 months,
then £4.50 per month
1 month contract
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
5GB
data
£1.29
for 3 months,
then £5.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
15GB
data
£1.80
for 3 months,
then £8.50 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
20GB
data
£2.39
for 3 months,
then £7.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
1GB
data
£2.90
per month
1 month contract
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
30GB
data
£5.99
for 6 months,
then £12 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
88GB
data
£8.00
per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
200GB
data
£9.99
for 12 months,
then £25 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  

Unlimited Data Plans

If you’re looking for unlimited data, this is currently available from £29.90 per month on Spusu. It’s a one-month rolling plan, so you can easily change it or cancel it at any time.

Network Data Monthly Cost
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
Unlimited
data
£29.90
per month
1 month contract
See deal  

It’s also possible to get an unlimited data plan direct from EE. EE’s unlimited data plans start from £20 per month (unless you’re an EE home broadband customer, in which case you can get it from £10). However, it’s worth keeping an eye out for the maximum speed restrictions (10Mbps on No Frills and 100Mbps on Essential). On the All Rounder plan, you’ll get the fastest available speeds and an Inclusive Extra.

Plan Data Monthly Cost
(will rise each March by £1.50)
Essential
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
100Mbps max speed
£20.00
per month
24 month contract
See deal  
No Frills
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
10Mbps max speed
£30.00
per month
1 month contract
See deal  
Essential Plus
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
100Mbps max speed
£36.00
per month
24 month contract
See deal  
All Rounder
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
£42.00
per month
6 months half price
24 month contract
See deal  
Full Works
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
£48.00
per month
6 months half price
24 month contract
See deal  

For more information, see our full guide to unlimited data plans in the UK.

International Roaming

On EE’s Pay Monthly plans, you’ll need to pay an extra £2.47 per day to use your phone in Europe. In contrast, most of the other providers using EE coverage still offer EU roaming at no extra cost.

For most people, we’d recommend choosing a Lyca Mobile plan for international roaming. That’s because they have fairly generous data roaming limits (12GB per month on limited data plans, and 35GB per month on unlimited data plans). In addition, you can get your plan on a Lyca Mobile eSIM, for instant online delivery and the ability to use it alongside another SIM card.

Network Data Monthly Cost
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
10GB
data
(10GB roaming)
£1.49
for 3 months,
then £5.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
15GB
data
(12GB roaming)
£1.80
for 3 months,
then £8.50 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
20GB
data
(12GB roaming)
£2.39
for 3 months,
then £7.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
88GB
data
(12GB roaming)
£8.00
per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
Unlimited
data
(35GB roaming)
£9.99
for 6 months,
then £25 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  

You’ll be able to use your data allowance at no extra cost in both the EU and India. Lyca Mobile also offers a number of AloTurka plans with inclusive roaming in Turkey.

Customer Benefits

If you’re looking for a SIM-only plan with added customer benefits, it’s worth considering a plan direct from EE. For instance, all of their Pay Monthly plans come with 6 months of inclusive Apple Music (worth £10.99 per month).

If you choose one of EE’s All Rounder plans (available from £42 per month), you’ll also get an Inclusive Extra for the entire length of your contract. The value of the Inclusive Extra depends on what you choose. For instance, if you were to choose the TNT Sports on discovery+ Extra, this would save you £20 per month. It may therefore save you money overall, compared to getting another plan and separately subscribing to TNT Sports. On the other hand, some of the inclusive extras are worth as little as £5.99 per month so you might be better off getting it separately.

Plan Data Monthly Cost
(will rise each March by £1.50)
All Rounder
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
£42.00
per month
6 months half price
24 month contract
See deal  

On the other mobile networks, you’re won’t get as much in terms of additional customer benefits. However, the lower monthly price can offset this, along with the other features available such as inclusive EU roaming.

Pay As You Go

If you’re looking for a Pay As You Go plan with coverage from EE, there are three main options:

  • 1p Mobile offers a traditional Pay As You Go service, where you’ll pay 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB. However, there’s a minimum spend of £10 every 60 days so it isn’t suitable for very light users.
  • EE offers a range of Data Pack bundles on Pay As You Go. Plans start from £10 per month with access to EE’s 4G network and a maximum download speed of 25Mbps.
  • Talk Home offers a traditional Pay As You Go service, where there’s no need to top-up every month. You’ll pay 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB on their ‘Penny Pro’ plan. However, you’ll need to manually opt-in to this plan every 30 days to get the lower rate. In addition, you’ll need to make a chargeable activity at least once every 90 days to keep your SIM card active.

For more information, see our guide to the best Pay As You Go SIM cards in the UK.

Mobile Networks Using EE Coverage


Flexible PAYG with low rates, but £10 min. spend per 60 days

1pMobile

Plans From: 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB
Types of Plan:
Pay As You Go
Coverage: Uses EE network (5G)check postcode
Network Speeds: Uncapped 5G speeds
Reasons To Buy:
  • A flexible Pay As You Go service with some of the UK’s lowest rates.
  • Optional 30-day bundles such as 25GB for £10 and 50GB for £15.
Reasons To Avoid:
  • Minimum spend requirement of £10 every 60 days.

If you’re looking for a Pay As You Go mobile service with 5G coverage from EE, 1pMobile offers a flexible Pay As You Go plan with rates of just 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB. The catch is that you’ll need to spend at least £10 every 60 days on the service. This is equivalent to spending an average of £5 per month.

If you’d like a bundle, they have a range of options available from £7.50 per month. For instance, you can get 4GB data for £7.50, 25GB data for £10 and 50GB data for £15. On all of these plans, you’ll get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included.

As a special offer for readers of this website, you can get a 4GB Data Boost for free when you activate a new 1pMobile SIM card. Simply order your SIM card through this link and enter VAKTT4GB as your voucher code at the checkout.

1pMobile has been around since 2016. It’s a sister company of the Utility Warehouse and is also part of the FTSE 250-listed Telecom Plus PLC. According to their latest report, they have 420,000 mobile customers, split across the 1pMobile and Utility Warehouse brands. This makes them a medium-sized provider, with a track record over the last 8 years.


Best for customer benefits & for savings with EE home broadband

EE

Plans From: £10 per month
Types of Plan:
Pay Monthly & Pay As You Go
Coverage: Uses EE network (5G)check postcode
Network Speeds: 10Mbps (No Frills)
25Mbps 4G (Pay As You Go)
100Mbps (Essentials)
Uncapped 5G speeds (All Rounder & Full Works)
Reasons To Buy:
  • Get 6 months of free Apple Music on all Pay Monthly plans.
  • Inclusive Extras (e.g. Netflix, TNT Sports, Xbox Game Pass) on All Rounder & Full Works plans.
  • Savings for EE home broadband customers (e.g. unlimited data from £10pm).
  • Stay Connected Data, at up to 0.5Mbps on Pay Monthly plans (excl. No Frills).
Reasons To Avoid:
  • Unless you have EE home broadband, this is generally the most expensive way of getting EE coverage.
  • It costs an extra £2.47 per day to use your phone in Europe.
  • Annual price rises apply on Pay Monthly plans (CPI+3.9%).
  • Some of EE’s cheaper plans have a speed limit, and PAYG is limited to 4G.

You can get a SIM-only deal directly from EE. This tends to be the most expensive way to get a SIM card with EE coverage. Having said that, the added benefits such as 6 months Apple Music can make this worthwhile for some, along with the Inclusive Extras and the Stay Connected Data on certain plans.

At present, EE’s SIM-only deals start from £10 per month (or £10 per month if you’re an EE home broadband customer).

No Frills

EE’s cheapest plans are available as part of their No Frills range. Here, you’ll get download speeds of up to 10Mbps which is roughly equivalent to the speed of a basic 4G connection. You’ll also get the 6 months Apple Music included, but you won’t get other customer benefits like Inclusive Extras or Stay Connected Data.

Plan Data Monthly Cost
(will rise each March by £1.50)
No Frills
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
5GB
data
10Mbps max speed
£25.00
per month
1 month contract
See deal  
No Frills
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
10Mbps max speed
£30.00
per month
1 month contract
See deal  

Essentials

For download speeds of up to 100Mbps, you can get an EE Essential SIM card from £10 per month. This is a good option for most users, and it comes with Stay Connected Data (allowing you to stay connected at 0.5Mbps, even when your data runs out).

Plan Data Monthly Cost
(will rise each March by £1.50)
Essential
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
20GB
data
100Mbps max speed
£10.00
per month
24 month contract
See deal  
Essential
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
50GB
data
100Mbps max speed
£13.00
per month
24 month contract
See deal  
Essential
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
100Mbps max speed
£20.00
per month
24 month contract
See deal  

All Rounder

The next level up is EE’s All Rounder plans, which start from £42 per month. On these plans, you’ll get an Inclusive Extra included for the length of your contract, such as Netflix, Apple Music or TNT Sports Ultimate. You’ll also get EE’s fastest available speeds.

Plan Data Monthly Cost
(will rise each March by £1.50)
All Rounder
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
£42.00
per month
6 months half price
24 month contract
See deal  

Full Works

Finally, EE’s flagship Full Works plan is available from £48 per month. It comes with unlimited data and 3 Smart Benefits for the entire length of your contract. You’ll also get EE’s fastest available speeds.

Plan Data Monthly Cost
(will rise each March by £1.50)
Full Works
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
£48.00
per month
6 months half price
24 month contract
See deal  
Full Works
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
Unlimited
data
£48.00
per month
6 months half price
24 month contract
See deal  

EE Home Broadband Customers

If you’re an EE home broadband customer, you can take advantage of their ‘unlimited data unlocked‘ promotion. With this, you’ll pay £10/month for the No Frills unlimited data plan (for speeds of up to 10Mbps), £13/month for the Essentials unlimited data plan (up to 100Mbps), and £19/month for the All Rounder unlimited data plan (with uncapped download speeds and one Inclusive Extra).

Pay As You Go

It’s also possible to use EE on a Pay As You Go basis with no contract and no credit check. However, EE’s Pay As You Go Packs will only give you access to 4G coverage. They’re also capped at a maximum download speed of 25Mbps and you won’t have access to benefits like Apple Music or Inclusive Extras.


A small provider with 3-month plans and bespoke, personal service

IQ Mobile

Plans From: £7 per month
Types of Plan:
Pay Monthly
Coverage: Uses EE network (5G)check postcode
Network Speeds: Uncapped 5G speeds
Reasons To Buy:
  • Inclusive EU roaming with no data caps.
  • A small and independent business with responsive customer service.
Reasons To Avoid:
  • Plans are fairly expensive, with the first 3 months needing to be paid upfront.

If you’re looking for a small and independent provider that offers EE coverage, IQ Mobile offers SIM-only deals from £7/month. When you sign up, you’ll need to pay for the first 3 months upfront. However, after that, it’s a one-month rolling agreement so you can cancel your plan at any time.

Network Data Monthly Cost
IQ Mobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
No
data
£7.00
per month
3 month contract
See deal  
IQ Mobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
3GB
data
£10.00
per month
3 month contract
See deal  
IQ Mobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
10GB
data
£12.50
per month
3 month contract
See deal  
IQ Mobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
30GB
data
£15.00
per month
3 month contract
See deal  
IQ Mobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
100GB
data
£25.00
per month
3 month contract
See deal  

IQ Mobile offers inclusive EU roaming on all of their plans. They also promise “bespoke and personal service from a small expert team” based in Bath, Wells and London.


Contract-free plans with an introductory saving, intl roaming & calls

Lyca Mobile

Plans From: £5 per month
Types of Plan:
Pay As You Go (no contract & no credit check)
Coverage: Uses EE network (5G)check postcode
Network Speeds: Uncapped 5G speeds
Reasons To Buy:
  • SIM-only plans with no contract & no credit check. Change or cancel any time.
  • Inclusive roaming in the EU and India. Plans available with roaming in Turkey.
  • Inclusive international minutes & support for eSIM technology.
Reasons To Avoid:
  • Monthly price goes up after the introductory period, unless you cancel.
  • No access to band 20 LTE (800MHz) coverage.

Lyca Mobile offers low-cost Pay As You Go plans with no contract, no credit check, and access to EE’s 5G network. You’ll get inclusive roaming in both Europe and India on all of their plans. There are also inclusive international minutes and support for the latest eSIM technology.

The following table shows Lyca Mobile’s latest SIM-only deals:

Network Data Monthly Cost
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
5GB
data
£1.29
for 3 months,
then £5.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
10GB
data
£1.49
for 3 months,
then £5.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
15GB
data
£1.80
for 3 months,
then £8.50 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
20GB
data
£2.39
for 3 months,
then £7.90 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
30GB
data
£5.99
for 6 months,
then £12 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
88GB
data
£8.00
per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
Unlimited
data
£9.99
for 6 months,
then £25 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Lycamobile
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
200GB
data
£9.99
for 12 months,
then £25 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  

The main disadvantage to be aware of is the fact that the price of your plan will increase at the end of your introductory period. However, there’s no contract and the plans are flexible, so you easily change or cancel it at any time.

Another disadvantage of Lyca Mobile is the fact that customers won’t have access to band 20 LTE spectrum. This is sometimes important in more rural areas, meaning you might be better off on another network if you need access to this.


A new provider with EU calls, EU roaming & WhatsApp support

Spusu

Plans From: £1 per month
Types of Plan:
Pay Monthly
Coverage: Uses EE network (5G)check postcode
Network Speeds: Uncapped 5G speeds
Reasons To Buy:
  • Cheap SIM-only plans with EE coverage & one-month rolling contract.
  • 500 international minutes to the EU, plus inclusive EU roaming.
  • Customisable voicemail & WhatsApp customer support.
Reasons To Avoid:
  • A fairly new provider: they only launched in the UK in April 2023.

If you’re looking for a low-cost SIM-only plan that’s available on a one-month rolling basis, Spusu is a new provider that offers plans from £2.90 per month with 5G coverage on EE. All of their plans come with unlimited UK minutes, unlimited texts and 500 international minutes for calling EU countries. You’ll also have the option of getting customer support through WhatsApp or Signal.

The following table shows spusu’s latest SIM-only deals in the UK:

Network Data Monthly Cost
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
5GB
data
£1.00
for 3 months,
then £4.50 per month
1 month contract
See deal  
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
1GB
data
£2.90
per month
1 month contract
See deal  
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
30GB
data
£9.90
per month
1 month contract
See deal  
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
50GB
data
£12.90
per month
1 month contract
See deal  
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
25GB
data
£12.90
for 3 months,
then £9.90 per month
1 month contract
See deal  
spusu
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 500 intl mins
Unlimited
data
£29.90
per month
1 month contract
See deal  

In the UK, Spusu is still a fairly new provider with a limited track record. They launched in April 2023 and have only 24 customer reviews on Trustpilot, at the time of writing. Having said that, they’ve been around in other European countries, having been founded in Austria in 2015. It’s believed they currently have 500,000 customers in Austria, along with an undisclosed number of customers in Italy.


1-month and 12-month plans with an introductory discount

Talk Home Mobile

Plans From: £5 per month
Types of Plan:
Pay Monthly & Pay As You Go
Coverage: Uses EE network (5G)check postcode
Network Speeds: Uncapped 5G speeds
Reasons To Buy:
  • Introductory savings with a reduced price for up to 3 months.
  • Inclusive roaming in the EU & Australia.
Reasons To Avoid:
  • No access to Wi-Fi Calling, 4G Calling or band 20 LTE (800MHz) coverage.

Talk Home Mobile offers SIM-only plans with access to 4G & 5G coverage from EE. When you sign up as a new customer, you can benefit from a reduced price for up to 3 months. After that, the price of your plan will increase.

The following table shows Talk Home Mobile’s SIM-only deals:

Network Data Monthly Cost
Talk Home
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
4GB
data
£0.01
for 3 months,
then £5 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Talk Home
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
8GB
data
£0.99
for 3 months,
then £8 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Talk Home
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
20GB
data
£1.99
for 3 months,
then £10 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Talk Home
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
50GB
data
£6.50
for 3 months,
then £15 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Talk Home
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited mins
  • Unlimited texts
100GB
data
£8.50
for 3 months,
then £20 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  
Talk Home
  • EE coverage
  • Unlimited UK mins
  • Unlimited UK texts
  • 100 intl mins
Unlimited
data
£13.50
for 3 months,
then £35 per month
1 month rolling
See deal  

All of Talk Home Mobile’s SIM-only plans come with inclusive roaming in the EU and Australia. However, there’s no access to Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling at present. In addition, you won’t have access to EE’s band 20 LTE coverage (800MHz).

Talk Home Mobile also offers a traditional Pay As You Go plan, where there’s no need to top-up every month. On their Penny Pro plan, you’ll pay 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB. However, you’ll need to manually opt-in to this plan every 30 days. In addition, you’ll need to use your mobile phone for a chargeable activity once every 90 days to keep it active.

Other Networks

There are a number of very small mobile networks that also offer coverage from EE:

  • CMLink UK (from China Mobile) and CTExcel UK (from China Telecom) are both aimed at the Chinese expat/student community. On both of their services, you’ll get inclusive features such as international calls to China. There’s also the ability to link it to a Chinese phone number for receiving calls and texts, as well as the ability to get customer support in Chinese.
  • Ecotalk and Your Co-Op Mobile are ‘ethical’ providers. With Ecotalk, all of the profits will go towards buying land that is given back to nature. Meanwhile, Your Co-Op Mobile will fund carbon reduction projects, as well as tree planting on behalf of their customers.
  • RWG Mobile is the ‘mobile network for Wales’. They offer a range of SIM-only plans with bi-lingual customer support in English and Welsh.
  • UW (the Utility Warehouse) offers a range of SIM-only plans to go with their energy and insurance services. Customers are typically introduced to the service through ‘partners’ who will earn commission for recommending services from UW.

In the past, there were several other mobile networks that also offered coverage from EE. These include ASDA Mobile (now offering Vodafone coverage), BT Mobile (which closed to new customers in October 2022), Plusnet Mobile (which closed to new customers in March 2023), To The Moon Mobile (now closed), Vectone Mobile (now closed) and Virgin Mobile (now closed).

In addition, the old Orange and T-Mobile networks were absorbed into EE, following their merger in 2010.

More Information

For more information, you can read our in-depth reviews of 1p Mobile, EE, Lyca Mobile, Spusu, and Talk Home.

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We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 34 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Peter Whisker said:

    It seems that EE MVNOs which have VoLTE (I’ve tested Lyca and Spusu) do not get access to EE’s HD voice peering and calls to other networks are not HD. Despite the Lyca or Spusu call showing “HD” and using AMR-WB on the VoLTE connection on the Lyca or Spusu side, a call to another network such as Vodafone routes as AMR-NB (non-HD) suggesting they don’t have access to EE’s core IMS HD voice peering.

    On the other hand SMARTY and Lebara do seem to have access to the core network (Three and Vodafone) IMS peering and end-to-end calls are in real EVS or AMR-WB to host and other networks respectively.

  • Harold Wilson said:

    Hi Ken,
    I have a similar question as Richard Driscoll.
    My son has a proper EE SIM and when used at home, he gets quite decent data speeds (we tested over several days) but my Lyca SIM barely manages a fraction of his speed.
    so, it’s not even about Volte calling.
    is there anything that can explain the differences?
    he is using an older OnePlus phone and I have a newer Pixel 8 phone.
    when I use a Vodafone SIM in my phone, I can get much higher speed than the Lyca (although not quite as high as my son’s EE SIM)

  • David Armstrong said:

    I’ve just switched to Lycamobile which is working well but I’ve just discovered they don’t provide WiFi calling, which I need at home. Do any of the other companies using the EE network provide WiFi calling as I can’t find any information about it?

    • Hi David,
      Thanks for my comment. There’s more information about Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling in my full guide here. However, my understanding is that Lyca Mobile are going to launch this feature imminently, now that they’ve moved to the EE network.
      Ken

  • Richard Driscoll said:

    I’m more than a little confused about whether or not these virtual networks do actually offer the self same coverage as EE itself. For my home postcode I have looked at the 4g coverage maps for Lycamobile, RWG mobile, 1p mobile, IQ mobile and EE itself. Each map gives the information in the form of ‘signal bars,’ text, and map colours.

    For the text report only EE itself says the coverage is great outdoors and good indoors; the four virtual networks say the coverage is good outdoors and variable indoors.

    For the signal bars only EE gives four bars; the other four networks give only 3 bars.

    The map colours are dark green for indoors/outdoors and light green for outdoors only. EE and Lycamobile show dark green while the other three show light green.

    What is the explanation for all this I wonder!

    I read somewhere that net all the virtual networks offer EE 800 MHz band 20 but I also read that Ofcom says that they must offer the same service.

    The best I can come up with is that users of the virtual networks have lower priority than EE users so that during busy periods they may be unable to get on the network (perhaps onto band 20 which is good indoors). This might tie in with the word ‘variable’ in the description of the indoor coverage and also in the difference in map colours.

    Any other explanation appreciated.

    • Hi Richard,
      Thanks for your comment. I believe some EE MVNOs don’t have access to band 20 LTE (800MHz) as this is only available to customers with a VoLTE-compatible plan and phone (VoLTE is also known as 4G Calling). Therefore, if you’re using a VoLTE-compatible phone on a network/plan that doesn’t support it, your indoor coverage may be worse than on an EE plan where VoLTE is supported.
      Having said that, the 3G switch-off is about to kick off this year. As such, I expect 4G Calling to be available more widely very soon (including on the MVNOs), so the discrepancy in 800MHz coverage is likely to reduce.
      Hope this helps!
      Ken

  • Here are some more EE MVNOs:

    • Moblox | https://moblox.com/mobile
    This was previously White Mobile (see https://whitemobile.com/) and was bought by Piers Linney (BBC Dragons Den) and rebranded.

    • Popit Mobile | https://www.popitmobile.co.uk/

    • Velotel | https://velo.tel/
    Aimed at cyclists. With cycling memberships and giveaways.

    • Zevvle | https://zevvle.com/

    All the above boast free EU roaming.

    I haven’t used any of these providers, so I’m not advocating them over any other. I’m just aware as to their existence and sharing that information. I think Orange and T-Mobile can be removed from the above list.

  • The information on this page is misleading. Not ALL providers that claim to use the EE network offer the full EE coverage.

    My daughter has good EE coverage at our home with an EE contract organised through BT. Based on that experience, I signed up with plusnet. When I got the plusnet sim, I could not get a signal at our house. It took several phone calls to find out why and eventually plusnet admitted they don’t have access to all of the EE network, and in fact if you bother to use the network coverage tools on each providers site, it is clear plusnet gives no coverage at our house while a native EE contract definitely does.

  • Hi Ken.I live in the U.K since 2013 and after years of bad deals and high costs (vodafone,3 and the worst:WorldSim) I discovered 1p.
    They are by far the cheapest and have comprehensive,transparent plans.
    I also have voxi which is basically run by vodafone and have to say that voxi is very good without having restrictive,expensive plans like the mother company seems to be affecting.

  • Thanks for flagging up the forthcoming Asda change, as of course they haven’t seen fit to inform customers. Do you know exactly when the change will happen? At home I only have coverage from EE, so will need to use up my Asda credit and switch. Vodafone has no coverage here – pure white!

    • Hi there,
      New ASDA Mobile customers are already being placed on the Vodafone network, but if you’re an existing customer with EE coverage, you can continue using the SIM card until September 2021.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

      • Thanks Ken. Looks like Phone Coop is the best alternative. Your site is invaluable, always our family’s first point of reference in all matters mobile. Much appreciated.

  • Is this guide up to date.
    I’m about to make s decision on behalf of a children’s charity.
    Which is best way obtain, if we went ASDA?

  • Virgin Mobile are moving from EE .
    i found this out when I upgraded my Virgin Sim and found I was now on Vodaphone network.
    As a result I now have no phone service as EE provide the only signal where I live. Virgin were quite definite about this change. —and totally unapologetic.
    Unfortunately they did not see fit to tell their Indian call centre workers.
    They were very puzzled as to why I had no phone service. They even sent me two new SIM cards
    So new sims and contracts will be Vodaphone

  • Ive been really enticed by Plustnets 2.5gb for £6/month but be warned; check out trustpilot reviews before you go with a company. Thank god I did thats absolutely terrifying whats on there. 86% 1 star reviews

  • Don’t forget talkhome mobile. They also run on EE and have very good bundles

    That said, non of the MVNOs have access to EEs band 20 (800MHz) which provides better coverage indoors and VoLTE.

    Luckily though, their band 3 is very extensive in coverage and most people won’t notice a thing.

  • Tracy Tong said:

    Hi Ken You say EE is £25 per month for unlimited mins and TX and 50gb internet.How do I get this deal.

  • Hi Ken. Just tries an ASDA SIM Only Data bundle to test a Huawei Y7 2019 with, after seeing friend’s wife getting very bad RF performance with her Huawei phone. Sat in their living room my Nokia was on 4 bars 4G+, and she was struggling to get 1 bar of signal. Turned out her provider was no longer on EE network but was on O2, so definitely worth getting a cheap PAYG SIM to check as you say 👍
    My Nokia is using a Plusnet SIM on a 30 day no Contract contract, and no complaints, especially as getting what they call bMates Rates for having fibre + phone package with them. They’ve also started doing very good 12 month SIM only Contracts, e.g.presently 5gb data unlimited texts and unlimited minutes. I have just auto stopped the Asda bundle though, as I’d grabbed the double data deal when it was on, but nowhere did it say that the deal only lasted for 30 days. Only slightly naughty though, as the telesales lady pointed it out to me, and with how good the RF performance has been, I wouldn’t let it put me off, and I’ll probably just keep the SIM going with simple PAYG use for the backup phone. Great performance with it in the Y7 2019 by the way. But I do see the Security issues with Chinese tech now, the permissions it’s given itself really aren’t nice, and I certainly wouldn’t use it for critical things like banking, NFC, Customer Contacts, etc. All the best, Bob.

  • Hi Ken.

    It might be a good idea to include real average and highest RPG inflation percentages for the previous 5 years to allow folk to budget for a Contract.

    Also, BEFORE a contract is taken out, it is a very good idea to try a PAYG Sim from a possible Provider, so that one knows what the signal strength, stability, reliability and download speed in your individual using area is.

    This is a good and useful site.
    Good work.

  • Wondering if notwithstanding them both being on EE You could shed any light on why Asda Internet: is so superior to 1pMobile? The Latter flags as ‘Club’ whereas Asda it’s own name . . . Same phone in same flat – 1pMobile like a most of time grounded Jumbo that does sod all fae ages then after ages whooshes whereas Asda performs as 3G should and with only 2 Bars?
    Hard to believe no 2+ tier system exists in practice lol!

    • Hi Dan,
      Many thanks for your comment. Whilst both networks use EE as their coverage provider, there can still be differences in network priority, data speeds, etc. Unfortunately, this is pretty hard to quantify as the figures are not published anywhere publicly and your mileage may differ depending on factors like your network, location, time, and congestion on the local mast. If you find that the ASDA Mobile SIM card performs a lot better, this may be a good reason to use it over the SIM card from 1pMobile.
      Ken

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