ASDA Mobile Review and Network Coverage

Coverage

Asda Mobile Coverage

Network Type	Coverage by population
4G	99%
3G	99%
2G	99%

Asda Mobile used to be partnered with EE for coverage, but at the time of writing it’s in the process of switching to Vodafone – all new customers will automatically be connected to Vodafone’s infrastructure, and from sometime in early 2021 all existing customers should be too. So by the time you read this the switch may well be complete. With that in mind we’re focusing on Vodafone’s coverage for this article.

Asda Mobile then has - through Vodafone - around 99% UK population coverage for 4G. Additionally, Asda Mobile also has 99% 2G coverage and 99% 3G coverage. Locations with 4G coverage include but are not limited to the following cities:

Basingstoke, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Coventry, Dudley, Edinburgh, Epsom, Ewell, Folkestone, Gateshead, Glasgow, Hatfield , Hove and Hastings, Hemel Hempstead, Huddersfield, Jarrow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Maidstone, Newbury, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oldham, Pontefract, Portsmouth, Reading, Rotherham, Sheffield, Slough, Stockport, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, Staines, Stourbridge, Swinton, Southampton, Tunbridge, Wakefield, Walsall, Watford, Wells and West Bromwich.

Use Asda Mobile’s coverage checker to find out more about Asda Mobile's coverage in your area, including signal strengths and details on 4G, 3G and 2G coverage.

5G coverage

Asda Mobile doesn’t currently offer 5G and nor has it said if or when it will. As with 4G it will rely on Vodafone for coverage though if and when it does. Vodafone for its part has so far launched 5G in parts of 100 towns and cities at the time of writing, so it’s expanding fast. That’s good news for Asda, as it means it might be able to offer widespread 5G coverage on day one.

Network Speeds and Frequencies

Asda Mobile customers can get 4G speeds which are roughly five times faster than a standard 3G connection.

Opensignal – Mobile Network Experience, October 2020, and April 2020

Network	4G download/upload speeds	4G latency (ms)
EE	36.4/9.1Mbps	36.0ms
Three	22.2/8.0Mbps	48.3ms
Asda Mobile (Vodafone)	22.4/8.5Mbps	39.0ms
O2	18.2/6.2Mbps	38.1ms

We don’t have much data on Asda Mobile’s speeds, but they’re likely to be similar to Vodafone’s (or EE’s for customers who haven’t been switched over yet). In an Opensignal report from October 2020, Vodafone was found to have average 4G download speeds of 22.4Mbps, and average 4G upload speeds of 8.5Mbps, both of which are the second highest averages on test.

Latency (the time it takes for a network to respond to a request) is slightly less good though. Lower is better here, and Vodafone has the second highest latency of the four main networks in tests carried out in April 2020.

Asda Mobile Network Frequencies

Frequency	Frequency Band	Network
800MHz	Band 20	4G
900MHz	Band 8	2G & 3G
1400MHz SDL	Band 32	4G
1800MHz	Band 3	2G & 4G
2100MHz	Band 1	3G & 4G
2600MHz	Band 7	4G

Being a Vodafone MVNO, Asda Mobile uses Vodafone’s spectrum bands, which means it presumably has access to all of the bands above.

That leaves the network able to deliver consistent 4G services both in urban and rural locations, indoors and out.

If and when it launches 5G it will presumably get access to the 3400MHz band, which Vodafone currently uses for this.

You can find in depth details of those bands in our 4G frequencies guide.

Planned improvements

At the time of writing, Asda Mobile seems focused on switching its network partner from EE to Vodafone. Once that’s complete, it’s mentioned extra benefits like Wi-Fi Calling being added.

Traffic management

Asda Mobile doesn’t publish its traffic management policies, but chances are that they’re similar to most networks, in that emergency calls will always be prioritised and in general you won’t notice traffic management in play, unless there’s a fault on the network or your use is classed as excessive.

Plans

Asda Mobile offers a range of SIM Only bundles along with a Pay As You Go service. In either case you’ll get 4G at no extra cost and can use any or all of your data allowance to tether.

Asda Mobile Pay As You Go Bundles

Plans Available	✔
Max Data	15GB
Bundle Expiry	30 days
EU Roaming	✔
Tethering	✔
VoLTE	✖
WiFi Calling	✖
Data Rollover	✖
	View deals

Asda Mobile doesn’t currently offer any Pay Monthly plans with a handset.

However, Asda Mobile does offer a handful of Pay As You Go SIM Only bundles, each of which lasts 30 days. These come with a maximum of 15GB of data as standard, and these bundles can be set to automatically recur every 30 days.

Asda Mobile also offers a Pay As You Go service with rates of 8p per minute, 4p per text and 5p per megabyte of data.

With all that in mind the highlights of Asda Mobile’s plans include their low prices and their flexibility, however the lack of Pay Monthly is a major omission – if you want a new phone on contract you’ll have to look elsewhere. The fairly low data limits may also prove restrictive for some users.

It's worth noting that by the time you’re reading this Asda’s offerings may have changed though, as at the time of writing it’s in the process of switching network partners from EE to Vodafone, and it’s promised cheaper standard rates along with more affordable bundles once the switch is complete. But you can click the ‘view deals’ button above to view everything Asda Mobile offers.

Tethering

Asda Mobile allows you to use some or all of your monthly data allowance to tether (getting other devices online). However, as Asda Mobile’s plans don’t come with more than 15GB of data in general, it’s still more restrictive for this than many networks.

Wi-Fi Calling

Wi-Fi Calling means making and receiving calls over Wi-Fi using your normal number and dialler. It’s handy if you have no signal but do have access to a Wi-Fi network and it’s typically seamless, however it’s not currently offered by Asda Mobile at the time of writing. That said, the network has mentioned it as something that will be added after it’s finished switching to Vodafone.

VoLTE

VoLTE stands for Voice over LTE and is sometimes called 4G Calling. It’s a similar concept to Wi-Fi Calling, but allows you to call over 4G, where typically you can only call using a 2G or 3G network. With VoLTE you can stay in touch in more places, as there are areas that have a 4G signal but no other kind. However, VoLTE isn’t currently offered by Asda Mobile. We’ll update this page if that changes.

Roaming Destinations

Asda Mobile lets you use your bundle allowances at no extra cost in the EU (for a total of 50 international destinations), so you can roam without racking up big bills. However, there's no free roaming offered outside Europe.

Customer Service

Customer service can be hard to judge, but based on the Which? H1 2017 UK Mobile Network Survey, Asda Mobile may be quite good for it.

It comes in fourth overall in the survey, which quizzed 4,026 members of the public. They gave Asda Mobile a customer score of 72%, beaten only by Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff, and, oddly, Utility Warehouse, while its 4-star customer service score was matched by a few networks but beaten by none.

Asda Mobile additionally got 4 stars for ease/speed of contacting and 5 stars for value for money, with all star ratings being out of 5.

On Trustpilot meanwhile it has a rating of 3.1/5 at the time of writing, which is considered ‘average’.

Of course, the Which? study is old, and there aren’t many ratings on Trustpilot, so we have less of a sense for Asda Mobile’s customer service than for most networks.

Conclusion

Asda Mobile has low prices and short-term plans that last just 30 days, giving you more flexibility than some networks.

With tethering allowed too and Vodafone’s robust infrastructure it’s a solid choice, but data limits aren’t high and free roaming is limited to parts of Europe (which almost all networks offer), so Asda Mobile isn’t ideal if you travel a lot or use a lot of mobile data.

It's also a write-off if you want a new phone on contract, since it doesn't offer any Pay Monthly plans. Overall it’s a very average network, but will suit some users.