£13.1bn
£X.Xbn
34,300
1,507
£X.Xbn
The Wireless Telecommunications Carriers industry is highly concentrated, with four mobile network operators (MNOs) dominating it. This means revenue is largely dictated by the performance of those top four MNOs. Higher consumer and business demand for wireless connectivity over wired telecoms, as it's advancing to become faster and more reliable, has supported industry demand in recent years. Revenue is expected to edge downwards at a compound annual rate of 5.4% to £13.8 billion over the five years through 2024-25.
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 6.4 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated £13.1bn in 2024.
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2025 | Revenue (£m)
2025 |
---|---|---|
EE Ltd | 4,629.7 | |
Vodafone Ltd | 3,320.4 | |
Telefonica UK Ltd | 3,295.7 |
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Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Access and voice services, Messaging and data services and Wholesaling. Access and voice services is the largest segment of the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK.
Revenue from access and voice services declines as providers adapt plans to changing consumer preferences
Companies in this industry operate, maintain and provide access to facilities for the transmission of voice, data, text, sound and video using wireless telecommunications infrastructure. Businesses in the industry also provide internet access through wireless infrastructure. The industry does not include telecommunications resellers (see IBISWorld report J61.900).
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SIC 61.20 - Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
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Price and quality set the tone for competition. Mobile users want services that they know they can rely on, and obviously they also want to pay as little for it as possible.
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
EE stays ahead of the curve. The company was the first to offer 4G services in the UK – approved by Ofcom in August 2012 – and in May 2019 became the first UK company to roll...
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Ofcom keeps a tight grip on the market. It sets limit on how much spectrum companies can hold, to prevent any one company gaining too much control over the industry. This is ...
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Pricing pressures eat away at profit. Wireless telecoms generate much lower profitability than other telecoms providers, mostly due to the high level of competition in the ma...
Including values and annual change:
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Key data sources in the UK include:
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
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The market size of the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK industry in United Kingdom is £13.1bn in 2024.
There are 1,507 businesses in the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK industry in United Kingdom, which has declined at a CAGR of 0.8 % between 2019 and 2024.
The market size of the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK industry in United Kingdom has been declining at a CAGR of 6.4 % between 2019 and 2024.
Over the next five years, the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK industry in United Kingdom is expected to grow.
The biggest companies operating in the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers market in United Kingdom are EE Ltd, Vodafone Ltd and Telefonica UK Ltd
Access and voice services and Messaging and data services are part of the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK industry.
The company holding the most market share in United Kingdom is EE Ltd.
The level of competition is high and steady in the Wireless Telecommunications Carriers in the UK industry in United Kingdom.