SMARTY Data Only Plans: SIM Cards For Tablets & Mobile Broadband

SMARTY’s Data Only plans can be used for broadband & mobile wi-fi, as well as in other devices like a 4G tablet & dongle.

In the UK, SMARTY now offers Data Only plans from £5 per month. You can use the data-only plans for broadband and mobile wi-fi. You can also use them in a wide range of 4G and 5G-capable devices such as tablets, dongles, laptops and routers.

All of SMARTY’s Data Only plans are available with no contract and no credit check. You’ll get 4G & 5G coverage from Three, with no speed restrictions and no limits on hotspotting to other devices.

Get SMARTY Data SIM Card (from £5/month) →

In this article, we’ll review SMARTY’s Data Only plans and the latest offers available on them. We’ll also look at the types of devices with which you can use the Data Only SIMs, along with the coverage and download speeds available on SMARTY.

Prices From:	£5 per month
Contract Length:	No contract (one-month rolling plan)
Data Only Plans:	2GB data for £5 15GB data for £9 40GB data for £13 100GB data for £17 Unlimited data for £20
Compatible Devices:	Tablets, dongles, laptops & routers
Coverage:	99.5% population coverage (4G & 5G from Three) Check postcode →

SMARTY Data SIM Cards

In the UK, SMARTY Mobile now offers a range of Data Only plans from £5 per month. You can use them in a wide range of 4G and 5G-capable devices to stay connected when you’re on-the-move without needing to find public wi-fi hotspots.

The following table shows SMARTY’s Data Only plans:

Network	Minutes	Texts	Data	Monthly Cost
	No	No	2GB	£5.00
	No	No	15GB	£9.00
	No	No	40GB	£13.00
	No	No	100GB	£17.00
	No	No	Unlimited	£20.00

See all SMARTY Data Only plans →

All of SMARTY’s data-only plans work on a Pay As You Go basis, so there’s no contract and no credit check required. You also get the flexibility to pause your plan at any time, in case you won’t be needing it for a while. You can also change your plan as required (e.g. to get more data or less data in the following month).

If you’re travelling abroad, you’ll be able to use your Data Only plan in 34 European destinations at no extra cost. This is subject to a fair use limit of 12GB per month.

You won’t get any minutes or texts included on SMARTY’s Data Only plans. If you need them, you’ll be charged an extra 10p per minute, 10p per text and 40p per MMS. Alternatively, you can just change to one of SMARTY’s regular plans which come with unlimited minutes and unlimited texts included.

Compatible Devices

SMARTY’s Data Only plans can be used in a wide range of 4G and 5G-capable devices. These include:

• Tablets. This includes 4G and 5G-capable tablets like the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab. SMARTY’s Data Only SIM card will give you access to the internet, even when you’re using the tablet out and about (e.g. in the car).
• Dongles. If you have a USB dongle, you can use it with one of SMARTY’s Data Only plans to get online through mobile broadband.
• Portable Wi-Fi Hotspots (MiFis). SMARTY’s Data Only plans can be used on portable wi-fi hotspots (also known as MiFis). Most of these allow you to share a wi-fi signal to around 10 other devices to get them connected to the internet.
• Laptops. If your laptop has a built-in SIM card slot, you can use a SMARTY SIM card inside it. For instance, you can use a SMARTY SIM card with the Samsung Galaxy Book, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook or the Microsoft Surface Go.
• Routers. You can use a SMARTY SIM card inside a 4G or 5G-capable wi-fi router.

IP Addresses For Broadband

If you’re using SMARTY for 4G home broadband, it’s worth knowing that you won’t be assigned a publicly-accessible IP address on your router. This is because SMARTY uses CGNAT technology for their customers (so you’ll be assigned a private IP address that’s unable to accept incoming connections).

For the vast majority of online activities, this won’t make a difference. For instance, you’ll be able to browse the internet, stream and download without any issues. However, you won’t be able to run a server that accepts incoming connections. Some P2P apps and online multiplayer games may also not function correctly.

If you’d like a publicly-accessible IP address, it’s better to get a SIM card from Three instead. On Three, you’re able to get a public IP address when you use the 3internet APN. This APN is not available to customers on SMARTY.

Three’s unlimited data plans are currently available from £20 per month:

Network	Minutes	Texts	Data	Monthly Cost (may rise during contract)
	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	£20.00 24 months
	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	£21.00 12 months
	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	£30.00 1 month

For more information, see our guide to Three’s SIM-only deals.

Coverage & Download Speeds

On SMARTY, you’ll get access to more than 99.5% population coverage on Three’s 4G network. In addition, if you’re using a 5G-capable device, there’s 5G coverage in more than 300 UK towns and cities.

To see what the coverage is like in your area, enter your postcode on SMARTY’s coverage map:

Check SMARTY Data Plan Coverage (smarty.co.uk) →

According to Three, they have the UK’s fastest 5G network. This is based on Ookla speed test data in Q1-Q2 2022. The average download speed as recorded by Ookla’s speed tests is 293Mbps. As a SMARTY customer, you should be able to benefit from this as well as they do not have any speed restrictions on their service.

For more information, see our guide to the coverage on SMARTY.

More Information

For more information about SMARTY’s Data Only plans, see SMARTY’s official website.