Virgin Mobile (UK)

Virgin Mobile UK was a mobile phone service provider.

The company was launched by Virgin Group and One2One in 1999 as the world's first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), initially using the One2One network (which became T-Mobile UK, and then EE). Virgin Mobile offered contract mobile packages, as well as mobile broadband services. It sold its services directly, as well as through price comparison sites.

NTL:Telewest bought Virgin Mobile in 2006 and rebranded itself as Virgin Media in February 2007; Virgin Mobile became part of the quadplay of Virgin Media services. Virgin Media was purchased by Liberty Global in 2013, and merged with O2 in 2021.

In 2019, Virgin Mobile entered into a 5-year MVNO agreement with Vodafone, and by 2021, began transitioning its mobile services from EE to Vodafone. However, this transition was rendered redundant following Virgin Media's merger with O2, which was completed in 2021. As a result, Virgin Mobile became an MVNO on O2’s network, and by 2022, all Virgin Mobile customer traffic was fully migrated from EE and Vodafone to O2’s infrastructure.

In January 2023, it was announced that Virgin Mobile would cease operations as a separate brand. Starting in March 2023, Virgin Mobile began transferring its customer base to O2’s direct services. The migration was completed by 31 August 2023, at which point Virgin Mobile officially ceased trading.

Virgin Mobile sold contract airtime, mobile phones and mobile broadband, marketed through Virgin Media and its high street stores.