It’s been a busy few days for the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) landscape in the UK. Widespread rumours that energy provider Octopus was mulling a move into mobile were quickly followed this morning by confirmation that UK-based financial services company Revolut is readying a virtual service later this year.
The Revolut move was less surprising, as it builds on the company’s eSIM roaming service launched in February 2024. The eSIM offer sought to address the return of roaming charges by some UK operators by targeting international travellers, many of whom use their Revolut card to avoid costly transaction fees when paying abroad. Revolut says its eSIM product has had “millions of activations”.
Revolut’s planned mobile offer for the UK is simple and competitive: a single £12.50 per month plan with unlimited mobile data, including 20 GB of roaming data in the EU or US and no long-term commitments. At first glance, it’s a very attractive offer, but there aren’t any details yet on whether data speeds will be throttled or if there’s a fair-use policy.
Revolut is also launching an MVNO in Germany, priced at €12.50 per month with 40 GB of roaming data. Other countries are planned to follow soon.
Significantly, the Revolut service will only be offered over eSIM. In this sense, the company’s timing appears shrewd as rumours persist that Apple’s next iPhone could include an eSIM-only variant for European markets. According to CCS Insight’s Spotlight report, over 9 million domestic eSIM profiles will have been downloaded in the UK by the end of 2025.
We expect Revolut will target the service at its banking customers. To encourage uptake, it promised to accept RevPoints to pay mobile bills.
There was no word on which mobile network Revolut is partnering with. For the combined Vodafone and Three, which is set to finally complete its merger next month, it would represent a welcome early win. Throughout the UK Competition and Market Authority’s lengthy investigation, the joint venture regularly talked of the potential benefits to the wholesale market of combining thanks to gaining increased capacity. But EE, which is perhaps most exposed to the trend toward lower-cost mobile offers because of its traditional positioning at the premium end of the market, would probably also have been chomping at the bit.
Some may question the validity of launching another service into the mature UK mobile market, but recent strong growth in the MVNO segment supports such moves. For example, the number of customers using virtual providers jumped 8% in 2024 to almost 18 million. This compares with a 1% fall among the four network operators: EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three.
MVNOs tend to perform best during periods of economic uncertainty as their discounted mobile offers resonate with people looking for a better deal (see UK’s Vibrant Market for MVNOs Keeps on Growing). Currently, MVNOs represent almost 20% of all mobile subscriptions in the UK excluding machine-to-machine connections, up from only 12% a decade ago.
This share is set to rise as aggregators and mobile virtual network enablers promise to do much of the heavy lifting for new brands seeking to enter the mobile space. In late 2024, for example, eSIM Go announced a partnership with Vodafone UK claiming that almost any organization could become an MVNO, be that an airline, retail brand, sports team or charity (see eSIM Go and Vodafone Partnership Means Anyone Can Be an MVNO).
Additionally, market trends toward SIM-only contracts, online sales and eSIMs make the process easier for customers to sign up to a virtual provider than in the past.
The potential move by Octopus Energy into mobile makes similar sense. The company has close to 13 million customers, a huge audience to cross-sell into. Having brought disruption to the energy sector, it may feel confident in shaking things up in mobile. In particular, it has carved a reputation for good customer service, something that has often proved an Achilles heel in telecommunications. It also has some telecom experience through subsidiary Fern Trading, including retail service provider Cuckoo Broadband.
Energy providers offering mobile isn’t unprecedented in the UK. Telecom Plus, which trades as Utility Warehouse and sells energy, broadband, mobile and insurance, has more than 1 million customers, including over 450,000 in mobile.
The Revolut and Octopus developments follow a more surprising MVNO launch earlier this year by London-based football club, Millwall FC. In February, it confirmed a £10 per month mobile offer using the Three network as part of efforts to drive greater fan engagement.
Recent MVNO activity reflects a buoyant UK market for virtual providers. However, new entrants should be wary that there’s no guarantee of success: the landscape is competitive and congested, building scale takes time and investment, and new entrants face the daunting prospect of having to establish their brand in a new sector.
As always, CCS Insight will be keeping a close watch on developments.
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