Tesco Mobile to be powered by O2 for another 10 years

O2 (Virgin Media O2) and Tesco Mobile have announced a further 10 year partnership renewal, which will see O2 continuing to power Tesco Mobile’s network throughout the UK.

Initially created 20 years ago, Tesco Mobile is a joint venture with Tesco and Telefónica UK (now Virgin Media O2 following the merger), with both companies equally owning a 50% share.

It’s therefore no surprise that both parties have agreed on a renewal. Unless Tesco Mobile purchases the 50% stake which Virgin Media O2 owns, they don’t have any other choice but to pick O2 to power its MVNO.

For some Tesco Mobile customers, this might be slightly disappointing news. O2 continues to lag behind when it comes to coverage and download speeds, consistently ranking at the bottom of the table in independent tests. Furthermore, O2’s 5G expansion is lagging compared to Three, EE and Vodafone, who provide much faster speeds and in more locations.

However, Tesco Mobile is consistently ranked at the top for customer support and satisfaction. A recent study placed Tesco Mobile in 5th place for customer satisfaction among UK companies. Furthermore, Tesco Mobile was one of the least complained about networks according to Ofcom, which is generally a position they have held for the past few years. Funnily enough, O2 actually received the most complaints.