SMARTY

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Hutchison 3G UK Limited
SMARTY
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded31 August 2017; 4 years ago (2017-08-31)[1]
Headquarters
Reading
,
England, UK
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
Elin McLean, General Manager
ProductsMobile telecommunications products and services
OwnerHutchison 3G
ParentThree UK
Websitesmarty.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

SMARTY (legally Hutchison 3G UK Limited) is a mobile telephone brand in the United Kingdom, running as a mobile virtual network operator using the Three network. A sub-brand of the Three company,[2] the operator aims to attract customers primarily looking for cheaper deals than those available direct from Three, by offering a monthly rolling SIM-only service, limited to online-only support. The operator offers to buy back unused data by means of a bill discount, a practice which is not widespread in the UK but is exhibited elsewhere such as by US carrier Ting.

Tariffs[]

SIM card package from SMARTY

All plans are monthly contracts, and are paid in advance by credit card, debit card, or cash via PayPoint, rather than via the more prevalent Direct Debit method. The company states that no credit checks are made.[3]

All plans include unlimited UK calls and texts. In common with other networks, SMARTY offers a fixed amount of mobile data (or an unlimited amount) for a fixed monthly payment.[4] It also offers "data discount" plans, where the customer pays a £5/month service charge and buys a small number of gigabytes of data.[5] Under these plans, customers who do not use all their data allowance receive a credit on their next month's bill for unused data, calculated per megabyte at the same price as they paid for it. This credit for unused data is unique among UK mobile operators,[6] as is the unified price of data add-ons; 1 GB of data is priced the same, regardless of whether it is bought in advance as part of a customer's monthly rolling plan, or bought as an add-on which is consumed only when a customer's monthly allowance is used up.[7] In this respect, the data discount plans are functionally equivalent to standard pay-as-you-go (PAYG) tariffs offered by other providers, such as Three's own PAYG offering, since customers only pay for the exact amount of data that they use.

Around June 2020, SMARTY introduced group plans: a group of two or more customers can share a single online account and payment method, and receive a flat 10% discount on their plan. This discount does not apply to data add-ons.

Upon launch, SMARTY offered hotspot and tethering functionality,[8] although they did not offer the ability to call foreign numbers, roam abroad, or dial premium numbers.[9] As of June 2018, these features are now available.[10]

In early 2018, SMARTY launched a refer-a-friend program. If a customer refers a friend, both get a free month on SMARTY. There are no limits to this, so if a customer refers one friend a month they will keep their mobile bill free.[11]

Network[]

SMARTY runs virtually on the 3 UK mobile network, utilising operator code 23420 and Three's IP address range. SMARTY state that there are no speed restrictions or throttling on the network, and SMARTY is not subject to Three's TrafficSense traffic management approach.[12]

4G calling (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling (VToW) are enabled on SMARTY. It uses the same protocol as Three's Wi-Fi calling service and is available on the same devices as Three.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ "Three's Smarty network buys back your unused data each month". engadget. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Three brings Smarty to the low-cost mobile party". Financial Times. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  3. ^ "How billing works with SMARTY". SMARTY. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ^ "SMARTY launches new Unlimited plan". uSwitch. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Plans". SMARTY. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  6. ^ Rigg, Jamie (31 August 2017). "Three's Smarty network buys back your unused data each month". Engadget. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  7. ^ "A cheaper way to own an iPhone and Galaxy S8 - New SMARTY service refunds unused data". Sunday Express. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  8. ^ "What is SMARTY? The new UK network explained". Recombu. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Learn about Three's Smarty and Vodafone's Voxi mobile networks". Hexus. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  10. ^ "SMARTY goes roaming". Coolsmartphone. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Get a free month". SMARTY. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  12. ^ "SMARTY vs Three: all the differences between the two networks". SIM Sherpa. Retrieved 5 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "What is WiFi Calling?". help.smarty.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

External links[]

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