Smarty review: a flexible, fuss-free network

Smarty is a comparatively new community supplier within the UK, popping up out of seemingly nowhere again in 2022. The community is run and owned by Hutchison 3G, which owns Three. It will not be one of many huge 4 community suppliers within the UK however Smarty has turn out to be more and more well-liked because it launched.

Smarty is often named as one of many finest UK cellphone suppliers for worth, and as a sim-only community supplier, it doesn’t supply any new units with a Smarty contract. That isn’t an issue for a lot of customers, who nonetheless have flagship units going sturdy and wish an affordable contract. Are you pondering of creating the swap to Smarty? I’ve researched the community’s protection, roaming, and repair and will share my first-hand expertise as a Smarty buyer for the previous couple of years.

Plans and costs

Smarty gives voice plans, data-only plans (with no calls or texts), and knowledge low cost plans (which offer you cash again for unused knowledge). All of the voice plans include limitless calls and texts, so no matter how a lot knowledge you go for, you’ve gotten assured limitless calls and texts. The most cost effective plan at present begins at 5GB of knowledge for £6 per 30 days, which shall be sufficient for infrequent net browsers. The most costly plan gives limitless knowledge for £18 per 30 days – superb for avid gamers and streamers who typically chomp by means of content material on the go. 

Smarty Voice Plans (2024)

One of many main advantages of Smarty is that plans are 30-day rolling, supplying you with the pliability to alter your knowledge every month. That is extremely useful; once I’m staying away or touring, I often go for an infinite bundle, so I do know I’ve knowledge for no matter I may have that month.

Protection and velocity

Smarty gives 3G, 4G, and 5G cell cowl by means of Three’s community, which has been improved considerably over the previous yr. Their 5G service reaches greater than 60% of the UK, which means that Three’s degree of protection (which Smarty additionally advantages from) competes with EE for 5G. 

In line with the Smarty web site, estimated most obtain speeds are 70Mbps and 22Mbps for uploads. As a Smarty consumer myself, I’ve all the time discovered the speeds supplied by Smarty exceptionally quick, with 5G all the time adequate for environment friendly net looking. As well as, it additionally works properly in terms of audio and video streaming. I typically stream exhibits from Netflix and different streaming providers through my cellphone utilizing 4G or 5G and infrequently have to attend for buffering. 

Sign energy tends to be pretty even; in most locations, I appear to have sufficient sign energy. Nevertheless, that mentioned, it may well typically be a bit of hit and miss, and can sometimes drop out, however that may be mentioned of most community suppliers. 

Roaming

Free EU roaming is included into Smarty plans however is topic to a 12GB restrict. If you wish to go over that, you possibly can select between shopping for an information add-on – the value ranges between £1 and £15, relying on how a lot knowledge that you must bolt on – and shopping for a one-day or three-day EU Roaming Information Move, which gives full entry to your ordinary knowledge allowance whereas overseas.

If you happen to’re touring outdoors of the EU then you have to to pay an additional price, topping it up with a credit score, that can be utilized to pay for texts, knowledge, and calls, with costs starting from 50p to £2.50 per minute for calls, 10p and 40p per textual content, and 2p and £5 per MB, relying on the nation you’re touring to. I haven’t personally used Smarty overseas but, however I’ve associates who’ve traveled to international locations within the EU and have been impressed with how properly it really works. 

Customer support and perks

The draw back to utilizing a finances digital community supplier like Smarty is that the in-person customer support setup will be restricted. At Smarty, all customer support is managed 100% just about through stay chats and boards, which means there’s no choice to name the community supplier.

There are few buyer perks with Smarty, because it’s a no-frills community. However there are sporadic offers all year long, notably for pay-as-you-go members. Usually, together with their common pay-as-you-go bundles, Smarty will add a few deal choices that present added knowledge for a reduced value. Additionally they run refer-a-friend schemes permitting customers to profit from a present card in return upon profitable sign-ups.

Smarty doesn’t supply the choice of eSIMS or spending caps, nonetheless, you’re unable to make use of greater than your pre-paid allowance, so you possibly can’t overspend. One useful function is Wi-Fi calling, which I’ve discovered to be a dependable technique of communication once I’m someplace that lacks sufficient sign ranges.

Verdict

There are many causes to decide on Smarty as your community supplier. You can get high-speed protection, together with free protection when touring within the EU. You additionally get entry to tremendous low cost contract offers and may use Wi-Fi calling do you have to need or have to.

There’s additionally the extraordinarily aggressive value level, and with numerous nice low-priced contracts to select from, along with numerous pay-as-you-go bundles, it’s a good selection in case you’re searching for a strategy to minimize prices.

That mentioned, there are some essential caveats, together with the truth that Smarty is a sim-only community supplier – a dealbreaker if you’d like a shiny new cellphone baked into your cellphone contract.

Alternate options

If you need a cellphone contract with a brand new gadget constructed into the associated fee, we suggest taking a look at these suppliers: