VMO2 total connections grow in 2025 despite churn spike

Virgin Media O2 ended 2025 with 46.74 million mobile connections, up from 45.70 million a year earlier, as growth in wholesale and IoT offset losses in its consumer base. 

The operator reported 405,200 mobile net losses in Q4, including 164,800 contract and 240,400 prepaid losses. For the full year, mobile net losses totalled 935,500, with contract connections down 397,500 and prepaid down 538,000. The Q4 contract decline was driven largely by its October price rise, which pushed churn higher during the 30-day exit window.

Wholesale connections rose to 10.43 million, with 239,100 net additions in Q4 and 382,400 across 2025.c IoT connections climbed from 12.45 million to 13.88 million, delivering 321,400 Q4 additions and 1.43 million across the year. As a result, total mobile connections still increased by 155,300 in Q4 and 879,200 across 2025. Retail connections reached 36.31 million, up from 35.65 million, although Q4 included 83,800 retail net losses, offset by 496,800 additions across the full year.

ARPU stable

Monthly consumer contract ARPU was £17.31 in Q4, down slightly from £17.76 in Q3, after £17.25 in Q1 and £17.77 in Q2, as price rises were partly offset by higher churn,   Mobile revenue slipped
1.9 per cent year-on-year to £5.58 bn, hit by an 8.4 per cent drop in low-margin handset revenue.
Q4 mobile revenue was £1.42 bn, down 4.4 per cent year-on-year, again reflecting weaker handset sales.n.

5G rollout

Virgin Media O2 increased outdoor 5G population coverage to 87 per cent, up 12 percentage points during 2025, and said O2 was named Europe’s most improved mobile network by Umlaut Connect.

Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schüler said: “Against a tough market backdrop we met our full-year guidance. Our strategy of targeted investment of more than £2 billion in 2025 has delivered real results. While market conditions will remain challenging in 2026, we are well positioned to seize the right opportunities.”