AO launches Vodafone-powered AO Mobile with £12 500GB tariff

Electricals giant AO has launched its own mobile service, becoming a light MVNO on the Vodafone network with Digitalk providing the technology platform. 

AO Mobile launches with a single SIM-only tariff offering 500GB of monthly data, unlimited UK calls and texts and 15GB of EU roaming on a 30-day rolling contract.

The Ultimate 500GB tariff costs £12 a month for members of AO’s subscription scheme and £18 for non-members.

AO has confirmed to Mobile News that Vodafone provides the underlying mobile network and 5G connectivity, giving the new service claimed coverage of 99 per cent of the UK population.

The company is operating AO Mobile as a light MVNO, working with Digitalk as its mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE).

Digitalk provides the underlying platform, produces customer bills and manages customer accounts, while AO itself handles customer service enquiries.

Both physical SIM and eSIM are supported from launch.

Customers can add up to nine additional SIMs to the same account, giving AO the opportunity to target households as well as individual subscribers.

AO declined to reveal its first-year customer acquisition target or longer-term subscriber ambitions, saying the figures were commercially sensitive.

AO pushes deeper into mobile

The launch takes AO beyond its established position as a retailer of SIM-free and contract smartphones and into the increasingly competitive UK MVNO market.

It also represents another step in the group’s expansion across the mobile device lifecycle.

AO acquired refurbished technology specialist musicMagpie in 2024, giving it a significantly bigger presence in smartphone trade-in, refurbishment and resale.

Adding connectivity means the group now has interests spanning new and refurbished devices, trade-in, resale and mobile service.

Rather than joining the industry push towards unlimited-data tariffs, AO has opted for a single 500GB proposition which it says reflects typical customer usage while keeping its offer simple.

AO founder and CEO John Roberts said the company wanted to remove complexity from buying mobile connectivity.

“We’ve been disrupting the status quo since 2000 to make things better, simpler, and cheaper for customers,” he said.

“We want to remove complexity and keep mobile simple so that it’s easy for customers to understand. Our pricing is transparent, our contracts are flexible, and our prices are fixed.”

Roberts said the company deliberately chose a single tariff rather than offering customers multiple combinations of data and contract lengths.

“AO members get 500GB for only £12 including 15GB of EU roaming every month. No gimmicks, no price rises in the first 12 months, no surprises and a rolling 30-day contract.”

He added: “We don’t need to tie you in because you’ll never want to leave.”

AO membership costs £39.99 a year and provides discounted prices across the retailer’s product range alongside benefits including free delivery, unpacking and recycling and 100-day returns.

AO World is headquartered in Bolton, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and employs around 3,000 people.