SMARTY turns 6: the journey so far

This week marks six years since SMARTY launched. It’s been an amazing few years, with our customers’ support being the driving force in our mission to deliver simple, honest mobile. To celebrate the occasion, let’s take a look back at how we’ve grown over the years!

2017: Simple, honest mobile

When SMARTY first launched back in August 2017, we were a small team less than 10 people. Back at launch, we offered just three simple plans: Small, Medium and Large. It’s safe to say expectations of what small and large amounts of data were quite different back then…

2018: When in Rome, roam

SMARTY saw two big developments in 2018. In July, EU Roaming became available on our plans, which we still proudly offer today - you can find out all about it here. In November, our SMARTY SIMs started to become more widely available through retailers nationwide and online.

2019: SMARTY without limits

The new year saw us introduce 2 new plans: a new entry point plan at 1GB and our Unlimited plan. February was a great month for SMARTY, as we won our first two awards, being named the Best Value SIM Only Winner and Best PAYG Network Winner at the uSwitch Broadband and Mobile awards.

The SMARTY blog was also launched in 2019, to give readers the upper hand with tips and information on various topics above and beyond just mobile phones – our first blog post was about finding bargain flights, for example.

2020: Bringing data up, breaking jargon down

2020 saw us step into double-digit data allowances, as we introduced two new plans with 30GB for £10 and 50GB for £15. Our commitment to providing great value was recognised by uSwitch once again as we won their Best Value SIM Only award for the second year running. This campaign was accompanied by a collaboration with Guz Khan to go through the SMARTY dictionary of Jargonary – a go-to guide for cutting through the malarkey of some of Britain’s most loathed jargon phrases.

2021: A year for the records

In early 2021, we created three new SIM plans to give customer more options. We also received Which? Recommended Mobile Network Provider status for the first time. Then, July saw the launch of our app, allowing our customers to manage their plan and more with ease. Also in July, we opened a pop-up vinyl store on Record Store Day. Coincidentally, this also happened to be the first time we crossed paths with Kaiser Chiefs frontman, Ricky Wilson – we’ll come back to this later!

2022: Faster connections and cheaper handsets

2022 was a big year for SMARTY – in January, we began to roll out 5G, giving our customers access to faster network speeds. In July, we launched our partnership with reboxed®, allowing SMARTY customers to get further discounts off a refurbished phone. We continued to earn accolades, being named the Best Mobile Operator in the 2022 Expert Reviews Awards and we were named a Which? Recommended Mobile Provider for a second year running. We rounded out the year with the launch of our Community platform, where customers can go to talk all things SMARTY and more!

2023: Calling out the Malarkey

This year has been perhaps our biggest yet! In February, we launched our Less Malarkey, More SMARTY campaign – you may well have seen our Crypto Farmer ad pop up on your TV! We’ve received more recognition, being named a Which? Recommended Provider for a third year running and winning the Which? Utilities Brand of the Year award in June. June also saw the launch of our partnership with Virgin Radio, sponsoring Ricky Wilson’s Drivetime show, which you can listen to from 4pm-7pm every weekday. Finally, just this month, we’ve introduced new plans to give you more SMARTY for your money!

It’s been a whirlwind few years – we’d like to thank our customers for joining us for the ride, as none of this would be possible without you. Not with us yet? Why not check out our SIM only deals and give award-winning simple, honest mobile a try?