Asda Mobile picks Vodafone to be its next network provider

Five-year deal sees MVNO return to Vodafone after seven years with EE

Supermarket retailer Asda has picked Vodafone to be the new network provider for its MVNO Asda Mobile, in an exclusive deal lasting five years.

The partnership signals the two companies returning to partner for the first time since December 2013, when Asda Mobile picked EE to be its network provider.

The partnership will see Asda Mobile users able to access Vodafone’s 4G and 5G coverage, and have access to its unlimited mobile data plans.

Existing Asda Mobile customers will be moved onto the Vodafone network from early 2021. Vodafone will also be providing Asda Mobile with digital tools for customers to access their accounts online, as well as analytics and insights to better target customers with benefits and incentives.

“Asda will be giving its mobile customers access to a larger choice of services, the UK’s best mobile data network, as well as easier ways to manage their accounts,” said Vodafone UK’s strategy and wholesale director Vishal Dixit. “We also give our partners access to our leading technologies and tools to ensure their customers get a fantastic mobile experience.”

Asda’s chief finanical officer Rob McWilliam said: “We are confident our customers will find Asda Mobile offers even better value. Our partnership with Vodafone will also provide some of the very latest innovations, at a time when connected devices are playing an increasingly central role in all our lives. We look forward to working with Vodafone to provide great service for our customers.”

Vodafone had announced last year that it was going to be the network provider for the Virgin Mobile MVNO, but that was thrown into doubt when Virgin’s parent company Liberty Global entered into talks with Telefónica to merge it with O2.

Vodafone’s other key consumer MVNOs are Voxi and Talkmobile.