Source: Many people don’t realize that the UK is home to some of the most famous mobile phone companies in history. These include One-2-One, Orange UK and Vodafone UK. But many more British networks failed before they even got off the ground. Here are ten defunct British and Irish mobile phone providers:
One-2-One
One of the leading cell phone providers in the UK that is non-existent now is One-2-One. One-2-One was a joint venture between NMT and Vodafone UK, which merged with Orange UK in 2001. In 2000, it merged with BT Cellnet. Mercury Communications purchased the company in 1999 before being sold to Dixons Group in 1999.
BT Cellnet
Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/JRDK48Ic5OQ
In late 1984 and early 1985, Racal Strategic Radio Ltd won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences, the other being awarded to British Telecom Mobile telecommunications projects Ltd. It operated in the UK from 1984 until 2002 and was later merged into O2.
Orange UK
Orange UK was a mobile network operator in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1995 as one of the world’s first mobile virtual network operators and was the first mobile network operator in Europe to launch GSM services in 1995. The network was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 2000 and became a part of T-Mobile Group as part of their acquisition of Orange Group Holdings Limited on 1 July 2007. In 2013 O2 sold its stake back to Telefónica O2; at this point, it became wholly owned by Telefónica Group SPA, which still operates under its old name today despite having been acquired by AT&T Mobility before 2017.
Mercury One2One
Mercury One2One was a mobile phone operator that merged with O2 in 2001 and then merged with Vodafone UK in 2001. In 2002, it became part of T-Mobile UK and continues to operate today as its network brand.
Esat Digifone
Esat Digifone was founded in 1989 and was Ireland’s first mobile phone provider. In 1999 it merged with UK-based Telecoms 2000 to become a leading European operator with around 2 million customers. In 2003 they were acquired by France Télécom, who sold them on again to Hutchison Whampoa in 2005. They rebranded themselves as eMobile shortly after the sale and began offering services across Europe from 2007 onwards under their new brand name.
Meteor
Source: Meteor was acquired by Eircom in 2005 and became Ireland’s second-largest mobile phone provider. The company was the first to offer mobile phones in Ireland, launching its service in 1986. It operated as Meteor Mobile until 2006, when it rebranded as eMobile and was subsequently acquired by Vodafone Ireland in 2007.
Dixons Connected Mobiles Limited (dissolved 2011)
Dixons Connected Mobiles Limited was a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) based in the United Kingdom. Dixons Connected Mobiles offered customers access to the Orange network through its SIM cards but used its own customer data servers instead of those operated by Orange. It also provided other brands, such as Vodafone, that had no presence in the United Kingdom.
Manx Telecom
You may also be familiar with Manx Telecom, formerly known as MWNVO. The Isle of Man’s second largest provider was acquired by Three in 2011 and rebranded as Three in 2012. Manx Telecom started offering mobile services on the Isle of Man in 1994. It was one of the foremost MVNOs to launch a European mobile network. It offered affordable tariffs and no-contract plans that allowed customers to sign up for service without committing to lengthy contracts or paying upfront fees.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found our list of the UK’s defunct mobile phone providers useful and informative. We know it can be a pain to track down the history of any given company, so we’re glad that we could help with this one for you.
Muhammad Asfandyar is a lawyer having extensive experience in creative content writing, proofreading, legal and academic research writing. He can be reached at asfandyar.edw@gmail.com