spusu review - a new MVNO powered by EE

Simple SIM only plans with transparent pricing

spusu’s SIM only plans are simple and straightforward - there are no hidden terms or charges.

All plans are 1 month rolling contracts. There’s no long term commitment required. Although you can cancel or change your plan at any time, monthly recurring payments are enabled by default, meaning your plan will be renewed every month and you will be automatically charged.

There’s no direct debit - instead, payment will be taken from your credit card, debit card or PayPal account.

As an MVNO, spusu has an agreement with EE to power their network. This is probably our favourite thing about spusu - you can get EE’s leading coverage and performance, without paying EE’s premium price. However, we should note that there are other networks which also use EE and offer cheap plans, including 1pMobile and Lycamobile.

spusu have promised a price freeze until the end of 2024, with no mid-contract price increases or any other unexpected charges. And as all plans are 1 month contracts, you can cancel and switch at any time, even if spusu decide to increase prices at a later date.

In addition to ordering a physical SIM card, you can also opt for an eSIM, which includes instant activation when you sign up. With eSIM support, you simply need to scan a QR code to start using the spusu network on your phone. Setting up an eSIM is quick and easy, but you’ll need to make sure your phone supports the technology.

Regardless of the plan you choose, you’ll get unlimited minutes and texts.

In addition, all plans include free EU roaming at no additional cost. The amount of data you can use when roaming in the EU depends on your plan, with 10GB for the entry level plan (spusu 30) and 25GB with spusu Travel. Plans also include 500 minutes from the UK to EU countries, and 500 minutes and texts when roaming within the EU.

An intuitive and flexible spending cap system

Since your spusu account is linked to your payment method, any additional services you use outside your allowances, such as premium calls or exceeding your data limit, will be automatically charged at an out of plan rate.

However, spusu have an incredibly flexible spending cap system. You can choose how much you are willing to spend over your allowance, and specify different amounts for data, calls, texts and roaming.

If you don’t want to spend any extra amount outside of your allowances, you can set spending caps to £0. This means any services you use over your allowance will simply not work, and you won’t be charged extra.

You can change spending limits online or via the spusu app.

The interface is very intuitive and easy to use. We haven’t seen such a transparent and flexible system offered by another network to date. Most tend to make you jump through hoops just to set some sort of limit - with spusu, it’s upfront and open.

Best in class coverage powered by EE

As we mentioned earlier, our favourite thing about spusu is that they use EE to power their network, for identical coverage and performance, with 4G and 5G support across the board.

EE is highly rated for its coverage, and is considered best in class amongst the other 3 major networks.

Ofcom’s Connected Nations report from Summer 2020 found EE to be the best network for 4G coverage, with 85% geographic coverage that reaches over 99% of the UK’s population.

EE have also been awarded best network for 10 years in a row by RootMetrics, an independent research company which measures performance and reliability within the telecommunications industry.

For more information, check out our dedicated EE review, where we analyse EE’s coverage in greater detail.

Rapidly expanding 5G network

All spusu plans include 5G, which is powered by EE’s network, delivering identical performance and download speeds.

EE ranked first for 5G availability in Opensignal’s Mobile Network Experience report for September 2023, beating Three, Vodafone and O2.

In addition, EE has 5G in over 1,000 towns, cities and villages across the UK, with new sites being added every month.

This makes spusu one of the cheapest networks to be powered by EE’s leading 5G coverage.

Fastest average download speeds, thanks to EE

Since spusu is powered by EE, you can expect the fastest average download speeds in the UK, as reported by multiple independent tests and studies.

In a recent RootMetrics’ report, EE clocked in with the fastest median download speeds, with figures of 65.1 Mbps. Three reported in second place with 34.7 Mbps, followed by Vodafone at 29.4 Mbps, and O2 in last place with 15.5 Mbps.

When looking at 5G specifically, EE is still very fast, but not the fastest - Three is approximately 40% faster. The report showed EE to have median 5G download speeds of 144.6 Mbps, with Three reporting at a faster 202 Mbps speed. However, in second place, 144.6 Mbps is still a very respectable result.

In conclusion, you can expect some of the fastest download speeds in the UK with spusu, but not necessarily the fastest 5G download speeds (although it’s still very fast). If you specifically want the fastest 5G speeds, you should take a look at Three, or an MVNO powered by Three, such as SMARTY and iD Mobile.

WiFi and VoLTE calling with all plans

All spusu plans include WiFi calling and VoLTE calling at no additional cost, with the latter being powered by EE’s 4G network. Both should provide improved reliability and call quality.

spusu added WiFi calling at the beginning of the year, for new and existing plans. VoLTE has been available since spusu launched in 2023.

Minutes used from your allowance will be deducted as usual. However, with spusu plans offering unlimited minutes and texts, there will be no deductions for domestic calls. For EU calls, minutes included in your plan will be deducted as standard.

WiFi calling is available with most modern smartphones, and should be enabled in your phone’s settings by default. You don’t need to set up anything on spusu’s side - it’s completely automatic - simply make or receive a call when connected to WiFi.

VoLTE calling with spusu works similarly - it’s also automatic and doesn’t require any setup. However, instead of using WiFi, it uses 4G/LTE within your current location. If you’re already connected to a WiFi network, spusu will automatically switch to VoLTE when calling if the 4G signal is stronger (and vice versa).

Free EU roaming, with some limits

spusu includes free EU roaming with all plans, but there are some limits on data, which vary from plan to plan.

For example, with spusu 30, you’ll get 30GB data for domestic use, however this is reduced to 10GB when roaming in the EU. Similarly, there’s a 15GB EU limit with the spusu Unlimited plan.

You’ll also be limited to 500 minutes and texts when roaming in the EU, which applies to all plans.

One thing we particularly like with spusu is that all plans include 500 minutes to call any EU destination from within the UK. Most networks which offer free EU roaming generally only allow you to call to EU destinations when within a EU country, and not from the UK.

No thrills or extras

spusu is a very simple network. They don’t offer any thrills or extras that you’ll get with some more expensive networks. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, some people may miss these types of incentives.

For example, there’s no reward scheme or data rollover with spusu. What you see is pretty much what you get - a reliable network powered by EE, and not much else.

In addition, there’s no data rollover, meaning any unused data from the previous month won’t be added to your current month.

There are no incentives or discounts for adding additional plans to your accounts (often referred to as family plans). If you want to get a family member on board with spusu, they’ll need to create an account and sign up separately, paying the full price.

Wide range of options to contact customer support

If you’re in a bit of trouble or looking for help, you certainly won’t run out of options with spusu. To contact support, you can call, text, WhatsApp message, email or submit a query through the online form.

With such a diverse range of options, spusu’s customer support is very accessible and inclusive.

Support is open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, and 9am to 5pm on weekends.

Since spusu is a relatively new network in the UK, online reviews are somewhat limited. Nevertheless, spusu Austria, where the network originated, has garnered 3.1 stars from over 500 reviews on Trustpilot. This rating is slightly above average - so not the best reputation, but not the worst either.

Overall, it's slightly difficult to analyse spusu based on their customer service, considering they only launched last year. While they offer a number of convenient ways to contact support, it's hard to predict how they will manage as their customer base continues to grow. Perhaps by the end of the year, we'll have a clearer understanding.