Most people rely on a mobile phone (Picture: Xavier Lorenzo/Getty Images)
With the cost of living crisis takings its toll on the wallet, now might be a good time to check if your mobile network is giving the most bang for your buck.
Maybe there is a better provider out there, but with so many options available, swapping to a different company can feel daunting.
Consumer champion Which? did the leg work so you do not have to, reviewing the major UK mobile providers.
It asked more than 3,700 customers using some of the biggest companies, including EE, O2, Three and Vodafone.
The UK ‘Big Four’ networks have some work to do to satisfy their customers (Picture: Oscar Wong/Getty Images)
Which? rated them based on service, value for money, network and download speeds among others.
Here is how UK’s biggest mobile networks compared.
Rating of UK mobile networks
Despite being a popular provider, Three Mobile got the lowest overall score.
Almost half of Three customers surveyed reported having a problem in the past 12 months, The Mirror reports citing Which?.
Three Mobile scored 60% in the review – a drop from its 66% rating last year, the outlet said.
It is one of the ‘Big Four’ networks with EE, O2 and Vodafone.
Only these four own a share of the UK’s mobile spectrum.
Maybe it is time to change your network provider? (Picture: Tim Robberts/Getty Images)
Other companies have to partner with one of them, known as piggybacking, to operate their SIM cards, Which? explained.
Vodafone and O2 did not fare too well either, with both scoring 68%.
The best of the big four was EE, but its rating was only 69%, according to Which? survey.
EE, now owned by BT, has around 32 million customers.
It beat its rivals thanks to a four-star rating of its overall network reliability, The Mirror said.
So what network was the best according to customers?
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Tesco Mobile got an 83% overall score, although it piggybacks its network off O2.
Runner-up for the top spot was Smarty, which is owned by Three.
Smarty scored 82%, and almost two-thirds of customers rated it as excellent value for money.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, told The Mirror: ‘Our latest annual mobile provider survey has seen smaller firms triumphing over the Big Four and being commended for their excellent value for money.
‘Consumers unhappy with their current provider should consider switching, which is easy to do, and can save them money and improve their customer experience.
‘When it comes to the unpredictable mid-contract price hikes used by a lot of the major telecoms firms, the writing is on the wall and they should put an end to this practice immediately rather than kicking the can down the road and allowing more customers to face unfair and unpredictable price increases.’
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