The big four
in numbers
There are four major mobile
phone providers, household
names when it comes to our
favourite handheld device.
EE
The result of a merger
between T-Mobile and
Orange, EE is now owned by
BT. This telecoms giant is the
largest operating today in the
UK with more than 30 million
customers.
is self-regulated and in July
2013, mobile network operators
appointed the British Board of Film
Classif ication (BBFC) to provide the
classif ication f ramework they use
to self-regulate commercial website
content accessed via mobile
internet networks.
“Some CBD sites may be caught
in this f ilter, but if highlighted can
be reviewed and have the f ilter
removed.”
There was no response f rom the
Vodafone press off ice by the time
this publication was sent to press.
The British mobile phone industry
According to OfCom, the UK’s
communications services regulator,
38% of British households own at
least two mobile phones.
Figures f rom research published in
2017 by consumer data specialists
Statista shows there are now more
phones than people in the UK.
Three years ago, the population
sat at just over 66 million people.
At that time there were 79 million
mobile network subscriptions
in the UK, most of those being
smartphone users. The market
research resource suggests the
penetration rate of smartphones is
expected to reach 77.21% this year.
In Ireland, a mobile consumer
experience survey f rom 2019 shows
the use of data rather than Wi-Fi
has become more f requent across
all locations since 2017.
O₂
Owned by Spanish telecoms
company Telefonica, O₂ is
the second most popular
network provider in the UK
and Ireland with around 24
million customers. In Ireland,
Three has acquired O₂.
Vodafone
The third most frequented
mobile network in the
UK today is multinational
Vodafone. The network’s
global operations base is
in London and as of 2018, it
was reportedly the chosen
network of 313 million
customers around the world.
In Ireland, Vodafone holds
the largest number of mobile
phone customers, according
to Comreg data.
Three
Launched in the UK in 2003,
this is the youngest major
phone network on the
market in the UK. Three is
owned by a Hong Kong
based conglomerate and is
estimated to have around
10 million British customers.
Three acquired O₂ operations
in Ireland in 2015.
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