SIM-only deals are now the most popular type of mobile plan says CCS Insight’s December survey into mobile buying habits of 1000 people

According to the survey, 40 per cent opted for the phone-free contract overtaking the traditional contract preferred by 35 per cent of respondents for the first time.

CCS Insight predicts growth of SIM-only contracts will continue. More than 80 per cent of SIM-only customers surveyed expect to stay on this plan for a least the next two years. About a fifth of pay-as-you-go, customers say they will move to SIM-only when their financial situation improves.

CCS Insight director of consumer and connectivity Kester Mann commented:

“SIM-only momentum has been building for years. The drivers include people holding onto their phones for longer, the popularity of trade-in schemes, higher sales of refurbished devices, the trend to online purchases and the emergence of new sales channels”.

“People are reviewing their telecom purchases against the backdrop of economic uncertainty. About four in 10 people said they have already downgraded a mobile or broadband subscription or plan to do so” 

“People are not taking annual price rises lying down. One in six we surveyed said they negotiated a better deal with their provider, while 14 per cent moved to a cheaper plan.

`“Eight per cent ditched their operator altogether. With many plan prices set to surge by 14 per cent, operators should brace themselves for backlash. We identified a small group of people who brought forward their mobile phone purchases to pre-empt further price rises or to buy before the economy worsens.

Long-term growth of the online channel continued, but at the expense of retail stores. More than half of survey participants bought their current mobile phone online, up from 47 per cent in 2018.

“When we asked people how they plan to interact with their mobile operator over the next six months, three of the top four methods were digital, with visiting a store ranked fifth”.

Momentum for the pre-owned market shows little let-up.

Almost half of the people surveyed had sold or part-exchanged a used mobile phone.

The proportion of people using a refurbished mobile phone as their primary device has doubled since the 2018 survey. Over half of the people would consider taking a refurbished phone next time, with the leading motivation being attractive pricing.

SMARTY mobile is offering customers an extra 20GB of data every month for a whole year on its 30GB for £10 SIM-only plan.

The monthly rolling plan involves unlimited calls and texts, EU roaming with 12GB of data, 5G and no annual price rises.

SMARTY says switching from a pay monthly plan to SIM only can save money amid the cost of living crisis and its new deal means you get 50GB of data per month for just £10.

Its 30-day rolling plan offers flexibility and customers won’t be faced with annual price increases during the contract.

SIM-only mobile brand SMARTY and refurbished tech brand Reboxed have joined forces to offer its customers exclusive discounts on refurbished phones through Reboxed ‘rehome, rebox, repeat’ service.

Reboxed lets customers sell, swap, or shop quality reboxed, refurbished tech and ensures every handset sold has a 12 month warranty by inspecting, data cleaning and certifying every device. 

SMARTY is partnering with the brand to offer discounts of up to £50 off Reboxed phones for pre-existing customers so they can enjoy affordable phones to accompany their SIM cards.

The exclusive SMARTY Reboxed discount offers SMARTY customers £10 off handsets up to £300, £30 off handsets from £301 to £600 and £50 off handsets over £600. 

SMARTY Mobile head of marketing Sayed Hajamaideen said: “For every reboxed device sold, reboxed plants 5 trees to help offset the products carbon footprint. 

“We’re delighted to introduce reboxed as an official and exclusive tech partner of SMARTY and to be able to offer our customers even better value on their already competitively priced handsets.”

Reboxed co-founder Phil Kemish added: “People have a growing need for quality tech without the long contracts and costs associated with buying new. 

“This, mixed with our need to make smarter choices for the planet, make the reboxed and SMARTY partnership a better way to keep up-to-date with the latest tech while making a better choice for the planet.”

Research by Lyca Mobile reveals that the return of EU roaming charges are an issue for UK mobile users.

Of those surveyed, 44 per cent of people said they are considering switching providers due to roaming charges and 36 pc said free roaming tariffs offered by smaller operators would tempt them to switch.

Confusion around roaming charges are affecting customers as 51 pc are unaware if their provider has reintroduced roaming charges and only 39 pc feel confident in how much roaming in the EU costs.

EU roaming could add £100 to a family of fours mobile bill, so 43 pc are planning to solely use WiFi abroad and 11 pc will avoid using their devices altogether. 

Lyca Mobile offers different SIM-only mobile plans and its most affordable plan is the ‘National Plus’ plan which costs new customers £10 over 30 days for 15GB data, unlimited UK minutes and texts, 100 international minutes and EU roaming.

Lyca Mobile chairman Allirajah Subaskaran said: “As holidaymakers try to avoid unwanted charges this summer, it’s clear that the reintroduction of roaming fees by operators is having an impact.

“With travel resuming at the same time as the cost of living crisis starts to bite, roaming charges are a major issue for consumers. 

“But they can, and will, take action, as consumers seek better value from their mobile provider.”

SMARTY Mobile has launched its new SIM-only deal with 100GB data a month for only £12.

This deal is available from now until July 27 2022 and the rolling plan includes unlimited calls and texts, EU roaming and fast 5G all with no extra cost.

SMARTY has also promised new and existing customers that they will not face annual price rises as its 30-day flexible rolling plans mean customers won’t have to accept price increases during their contract.

The SIM-only company is powered by Three’s network and continues to roll out 5G to customers across the UK.

More than three million out-of-contract customers could save a total of £670 million annually by switching to SIM-only deals according to Uswitch.

These customers could save an average of £207 a year by changing to a SIM-only tariff on a flexible 30-day or 12-month offer.

The cheapest flexible option comes from Lebara, costing £3.95 per month for 1GB data, 200 minutes of calls and unlimited texts.

If customers want a 12-month contract, Three offers unlimited data, calls and texts for £16 a month, and SMARTY offers 60GB of data for £10 a month including EU roaming. 

Uswitch.com telecoms expert Ernest Doku said: “If you’re out of contract on a pay-monthly deal with your mobile provider it’s important to remember that you now own your handset outright and could reduce your bill dramatically by switching to a SIM-only plan.

“Even if you’re on a ‘split deal’ where you have one plan for your handset and another for minutes, texts and data, you will find that once that ‘airtime’ contract expires, you can likely make additional savings by opting for a SIM-only deal in its place.   

“If you’re not sure when your current pay-monthly deal ends, check your paperwork from your network and make a note of the end date so you’ll be ready to switch should you see a better deal.” 

Uswitch urges anyone out of contract with their mobile provider to run a comparison online to check their options and see if they can save with a better deal.

Vodafone has launched a promotion which offers customers six months half price when purchasing a 24 month unlimited plan.

Prices start from £11 per month for six months and customers who select an unlimited max plan will be able to enjoy 5G connectivity.

The operator says the customers on its 5G network will experience speeds up to 10 times faster than 4G, ultra-quick response times and greater reliability.

Vodafone as announced the following unlimited SIM-only plans will be available to purchase with 6 months half price:

Vodafone Unlimited Lite: £11 per month and offers speeds of up to 2Mbps with 48 roam-free destinations included.

Vodafone Unlimited: £13 per month and offers speeds of up to 10 Mbps with 48 roam free destinations.

Vodafone Unlimited Max: £15 per month: Offers speeds as fast as the network will allow and includes 77 inclusive roaming destinations.

Network enabler CTech Group is seeking to take a two to three per cent share of UK SIM-only sales this year, after announcing a contract with Virgin Media and appointing industry veteran Fergal Donovan as a non-executive director.

The new deal allows the software-as-a-service firm to offer Virgin Mobile SIM- only deals.

CTech Group specialises in helping retailers sell services alongside hardware – such as SIM-only offerings with SIM-free phones or TVs with home broadband – and has partners including Three, Vodafone, Lebara, Argos and Envirofone.

CTech Group CEO Ashley Bailey said of the company’s plans and its partnership with Virgin: “We’re aiming to capture a couple of per cent of the SIM-only market inside the next 12 months.

“This will be done by increasing our networks, such as with Virgin, which is quite an aggressive player in the MVNO space.

“We plan to add more partners in the coming months and also drive into the retail channel.”

Appointment

Bailey expects the appointment of former Data Select CEO Donovan to boost CTech Group’s chances in the SIM-only market and to help build new partnerships.

“We have appointed him because of his expertise, knowledge and what he has achieved in his career,” he said.

“He is well respected within the channel and can open doors for us; it’s a big appointment.”

Donovan added: “Ashley and the CTech team have an exciting opportunity.

“CTech Group is talking to some major players within the retail industry and has technology that retailers see as valuable.”

The average price of monthly mobile contracts has fallen by nearly £2 since 2018, according to new research from Ofcom.

The telecoms regulator’s annual Pricing Trends report claims that UK mobile customers pay less than those in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US.

Since 2016, the price of the average mobile contract has gone down by 19 per cent, while data use has increased by 146 per cent. Ofcom calculated the price of a mobile service (based on the mean average mobile use of 168 minutes and 3.2GB a month) was £13 a month, nearly £2 lower than in 2018 (based on 2018 average mobile use of 169 minutes and 2.5GB per month).

However, Ofcom stated that many consumers may still be paying for more data than they need, with a study of 150,000 Android users revealing that only 10 per cent used more than 5GB per month, despite more than 70 per cent of mobile tariffs offering more than 5GB of data.

SIM-only deals and refurbished handsets continued to gain popularity, with the former accounting for 38 per cent of subscriptions, an increase on 34 per cent in 2018. Ofcom also claimed that buying a SIM-only contract and a handset separately typically meant a lower cost.

“Bundled contracts were equivalent to the customer being charged an APR (annual percentage rate) of 13-24 per cent for their handset. The additional cost can be much higher if customers do not move onto a SIM-only deal at the end of their contract,” the report stated. Ofcom claims that nearly 1.5 million out-of-contract people could save on average £11 per month if they switched to a SIM-only deal.

Ofcom also noted the emergence of unlimited data tariffs with differing speed tiers, and data plans that do not deduct monthly data when using certain social media and streaming apps.