Mobile Phone Networks

Finding an ethical mobile phone network

This guide assesses 20 of the UK’s leading mobile phone networks. The key thing to know about the UK’s mobile network is that the underlying physical infrastructure is actually operated by just four (soon to be three) companies: EE, O2, and the soon-to-be-merged Three and Vodafone.

All other operators are called ‘Mobile Virtual Network Operators’ (MVNOs) as they provide services by 'piggybacking' on the others’ infrastructure. MVNOs purchase minutes or data from the 'big four' network operators at wholesale prices and can offer lower prices to their own customers due to lower overhead costs. Virtual operators don’t directly bear the infrastructure and operational costs of running a wireless network, such as constructing cell towers.

Some of these virtual operators are fully independent companies, whilst others are owned by the company that they piggyback on. 

So although the choice of infrastructure provider is narrow, the guide highlights large differences in ethics between many of the mobile network providers, with some scoring over 70/100, whilst other brands languish at the bottom of the scoretable, barely scraping 10 or 15 points. This means there is scope to find an ethical or green mobile phone network provider. 
 

UK mobile phone network

Much has changed in the two years since we last reviewed mobile networks. Plusnet Mobile closed for good in early 2024, and BT Mobile ceased accepting new consumer customers in October 2023, focusing on EE as the primary consumer brand.

A new player, Meaningful Planet, emerged as a virtual operator which directs 10% of revenue to nature-based projects in the UK.

And the Consumer and Markets Authority approved the long-awaited merger between Three and Vodafone in December 2024, paving the way for the creation of the UK’s largest mobile network.

Who owns what brands?

As well as the forthcoming merger, there are several mobile service providers which are owned by larger conglomerates. 

• Telecom Plus: 1pMobile, Utility Warehouse
• Vodafone/Three: Smarty, Talkmobile, Three, Vodafone, VOXI
• VMED O2: giffgaff, O2, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile

VMED O2 is Virgin Media and O2, and is 50% owned by Telefonica and 50% by Liberty Global.

Merger of Three and Vodafone

In December 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved the merger of Three and Vodafone. Three and Vodafone were still operating as separate companies and distinct brands at the time of writing, but are expected to merge formally in the first half of 2025. As this merger now appears guaranteed, we have treated them as a merged entity in the ethical ratings for this guide.

They did, however, maintain their own separate networks at the time of publication, so both appear on the score table.

Proponents of the merger argue that consolidation will lead to increased investment in network infrastructure, improved 5G rollout, and better overall service quality. However, industry analysts, unions, and consumer groups continue to raise concerns about the potential negative impact on consumers, particularly regarding competition and pricing.

With only three major infrastructure operators remaining post-merger (EE, O2, and the combined Vodafone/Three entity) the remaining players will have greater power to dictate terms and prices, which could potentially result in worse deals for MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) that rely on the networks of the major operators.

Moreover, Unite has warned that up to 1,600 jobs could be lost when the merger goes through, in addition to the 11,000 global job cuts that Vodafone announced in 2023. The union also voiced concern about Three’s parent, CK Hutchison, due to its directors' collaborations with the Chinese government and support for repression of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. Unite fears that a merger with Vodafone, which is a supplier to the UK state, could give the CK Group significant control over, and access to, the data of 27m customers.

In approving the merger, the CMA did impose some conditions aimed at preventing monopolistic behaviour. These include a temporary cap on “certain mobile tariffs” and prevent the merged company from making major alterations to MVNO contracts for three years. Nonetheless, the full impact on consumers will only become clear as the merger progresses and the new entity begins to assert its market presence. 

Is there an ethical mobile phone network?

Our Best Buy networks score highly, but all four are virtual networks (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) that piggyback on physical infrastructure operated by O2, EE or the now merging Vodafone/Three entity. 

None of the three infrastructure providers score well themselves, but O2 – now owned by the merged Virgin Media O2 – came out as the slightly best of a bad bunch. Its climate reporting was notably more comprehensive than the other main operators, but the company scored zero marks in both our Tax Conduct and Company Ethos categories.

Because MVNOs lease data from one of the main network operators, some of your money will go towards one of these companies (O2, EE or Vodafone/Three), even if you choose one of our Best Buys as your service provider. But some could fund green projects too.

Which phone networks piggyback on whom?

The available mobile networks in the UK are EE, O2, and the merging Vodafone/Three organisation. The table below shows the actual networks used by each virtual operator (MVNO), listed by A to Z of operators. 

Is there a green mobile network?

The three top-scoring companies make big deals of their approach to the environment. Honest Mobile calls itself carbon negative, 10% of Meaningful Planet’s revenues go towards “restoring nature, helping the environment, and enhancing biodiversity”, while Ecotalk is apparently the “world’s greenest mobile network”. Big talk, but does it add up?

These companies don’t use a 'greener' network system – all three piggyback on externally owned infrastructure, as explained above. 

The companies' environmental claims are instead primarily based around redirecting revenue into environmental projects such as carbon removals or rewilding.

Carbon emissions in the mobile sector

Carbon emissions from data centres are increasingly gaining public attention due to the growing energy needs of AI. Mobile operators also use data centres to host calls, texts, and internet data. Globally, the mobile network industry is making some progress to cut emissions, largely thanks to energy efficiency improvements and an increased reliance on renewable energy. A 2024 report found that the sector’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions fell 6% between 2019 and 2022, despite global internet traffic more than doubling and mobile connections rising by 7%. 

Virgin Media O2 stood out amongst the large companies for its climate reporting and action. The company obtained a 15% saving in data centre cooling energy via its work with Ekkosense AI software, and was awarded several sustainability awards in 2024. 

Asda sits at the bottom of the table with a score of zero under our Climate category. The company has faced criticisms over everything from greenwashing its clothing lines to opting for climate-destructive air con systems. 

Loyalty penalties and greedflation

UK mobile network operators are facing growing criticism for exploiting customer loyalty through 'greedflation' – the inflation of prices driven by corporate greed rather than actual increases in costs. Major brands like EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three are often accused of offering better deals to new customers while quietly increasing prices for existing long-term ones.

This practice sees customers who stay with a provider for extended periods paying significantly more than those who frequently switch providers to chase promotional rates. There is growing evidence that older people and those on low incomes are at more risk of paying such loyalty penalties.

Companies have justified annual price increases as necessary for, for example, investment in network infrastructure, but consumer advocates argue that these increases far outpace actual costs, leading to profits for operators at the expense of customers, who are increasingly squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis.

The worst offenders are now at least beginning to face the music. EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three are together facing a £3.3bn class action lawsuit over loyalty penalties, and, as of January 2025, Ofcom and the ASA require providers to clearly state mid-contract price hikes in pounds and pence at the start of the contract.

Price rises can no longer be linked to variables like inflation, and increases need to be as prominent as the initial price in advertisements. These rules only apply to new contracts, so long-term customers may still face percentage-based increases tied to inflation without clear notice.

Who's best for loyalty?

Honest Mobile stands apart from the pack on this issue, as it is the only company that has a loyalty discount as standard, so your mobile bills actually decrease with time. 

Plus, the following brands in the guide are committed to no price hikes: 

• 1p Mobile
• ASDA Mobile
• Ecotalk
• giffgaff
• Honest Mobile
• Lebara
• Lycamobile
• Meaningful Planet
• Sky Mobile
• Smarty
• VOXI
• Your Co-op

Price comparison

It's difficult to make like-for-like price comparisons between the mobile networks because operators offer such a varied range of contract types and time-limited deals. Many of the virtual operators brand themselves as cheap, no-frills affairs. 

Giffgaff, iD Mobile, Lebara, Lycamobile, Smarty, Talkmobile, and VOXI all have reputations for low-price contracts, but customers miss out on some of the benefits and perks provided by the big companies, such as O2’s concert priority scheme.

Some brands which have higher ethical scores are more expensive than other virtual operators, but are comparable and sometimes cheaper than offers from the 'big four' networks.

Mobile phone networks and tax avoidance

It is all or nothing when it comes to tax and mobile phone networks. 

Who scores best for tax policies?

The following companies all scored 100/100 in the tax conduct category:

• 1pMobile
• Ecotalk
• Honest Mobile
• Meaningful Planet
• Utility Warehouse
• Your Coop 

Brands who scored zero for tax conduct

Other than the brands listed above, all other companies in the guide scored zero for tax.

Of the zero-scorers, Lycamobile is an interesting case. A major Tory donor, the company has been embroiled in a dispute over VAT for the past eight years and, in August 2024, was handed a winding up petition by HMRC. This comes on the back of a €10m fine in France in 2023 for VAT fraud and money laundering alleged to have occurred from 2014-16.

Moreover, the company has repeatedly filed its accounts late, putting it at risk of being struck off the corporate register entirely. In 2016, its own auditors said its complex web of offshore and UK companies was so opaque that they could not account for £134m of assets. And in 2023, its auditors once again refused to sign off its accounts because it had “not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion”.

Company Ethos

The highest scorers in the Company Ethos category were Honest Mobile, Meaningful Planet, and Your Co-op, which each scored 60/100 in this category.

Honest Mobile and Meaningful Planet both received marks for B Corporation and Living Wage accreditation, and for promoting a broad range of environmental causes.

Your Co-op received marks for its co-operative structure, while Ecotalk, which scored 50/100 in this category, was rewarded for its company-wide focus on the green transition.

All other brands scored poorly in the ethos category, with 1pMobile, Asda Mobile, iD Mobile, Lebara, Lycamobile, and Utility Warehouse scraping 10/100, and all other companies scoring zero. 

Workers' rights

The big four network providers (EE, O2, Three and Vodafone) have physical infrastructure and therefore workers in their supply chains, so we expected them to have detailed policies on workers.

Mobile network brands that are ‘piggybacking’ on these operators don’t own or build their own infrastructure, so we didn’t expect them to have as detailed policies in order to score well in the rating for workers.

Brands that are piggybacking on the big four for mobile networks, but also operate in other labour-intensive industries, were however expected to have strong workers’ rights policies (such as Asda, Sky, and Tesco, and iD Mobile which is owned by Currys).

Worst scorers for workers' rights

The following brands all scored 0/100 for the workers category: 

• Asda Mobile
• EE
• Smarty
• Talkmobile
• Three
• Vodafone
• VOXI

Wealthy oil investments in telecoms 

Like much of the UK’s infrastructure, telecoms are proving a tempting investment opportunity for the Gulf States. The sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates (operating as the telecoms brand “e&”) is the largest shareholder in Vodafone, owning 15% of the company. This raised alarm bells in UK government circles in January 2024, when the Cabinet Office warned that the stake amounted to a national security concern. Vodafone is a strategic supplier to the UK government, and is embedded in the country’s cybersecurity infrastructure, and the shareholding would mean e& could “materially influence policy at Vodafone”. Vodafone’s government contracts include a service for survivors and witnesses of sexual and modern slavery offences to pre-record evidence for trial, and it also provides the infrastructure for the NHS 111 helpline.

The UAE is not alone in wanting a slice of the telecoms pie. Saudi Arabia’s STC Group, itself majority owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, bought a 9.9% stake of Telefonica (the Spanish-headquartered group which owns O2) in late 2023. This prompted a spooked Spanish government to secure a 10% stake itself, becoming the largest shareholder by a hair’s breadth. The Saudi investment group was apparently also gunning for the 24.5% stake in BT Group (owner of EE), that was eventually taken by Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises.

These manoeuvres highlight an interesting tension between European governments’ cravings for foreign investment and their desire to control those investments. The pattern suggests that they will likely continue to privilege hard cash over potential security concerns.