Two things surprise people about data in Britain. The first is a buying question created by Brexit. The second is that the countryside has worse mobile coverage than most of Europe.
Check whether your Europe plan includes the UK
Before Brexit, a Europe plan covering the EU covered Britain by default. That is no longer true. The UK is now treated as a separate coverage area, and plans vary:
- Some Europe regional plans include the UK.
- Some do not.
- Some include England, Scotland and Wales but are vague about Northern Ireland, and a trip that crosses to the Republic of Ireland is crossing into a different country again.
The plan page's coverage list is the only thing worth reading. If the United Kingdom is not named on it, assume it is not included — and if your itinerary is London plus Dublin, check both.
For a UK-only trip, a UK plan is almost always cheaper than a regional one.
Rural coverage is genuinely patchy
Visitors expect a wealthy, small, densely populated country to be covered everywhere. It is not.
- The Scottish Highlands and islands: long gaps on the A82, A87 and the roads to Applecross and Torridon. Skye has coverage in the villages and little between them. The Outer Hebrides are thin.
- Mid Wales and Snowdonia: significant dead zones on the mountain roads and in the valleys.
- The Lake District and the Peak District: fine in the towns, poor on the fells and in the dales.
- Cornwall and Devon's lanes: patchy once you leave the A roads.
- Trains: notoriously bad. Signal drops repeatedly on most intercity routes, including the East Coast and West Coast main lines, and through the many cuttings and tunnels. Download anything you want to read or watch before you board.
- The London Underground: some lines and stations now have mobile coverage and others still do not. Do not plan around it — load your directions before you go down.
If you are driving in Scotland or Wales, offline maps are not optional.
Cities
London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow are all well covered. Congestion slowdowns happen at rush hour and at large events, which is normal everywhere and not a plan fault.
How much data
Britain is a moderate-usage destination. Wifi is common in cafés, pubs, hotels and on many buses and trains, but it is often slow and frequently requires a sign-in page.
- London and one or two cities, ordinary sightseeing: 2 GB per day.
- Touring by car or train with constant map and timetable use: 3 GB per day.
- Working remotely or tethering a laptop: 5 GB per day or more, and check hotspot sharing is permitted.
Train-time and disruption lookups are a real daily data cost in the UK that people do not budget for — British travel involves checking whether your train still exists more often than elsewhere.
No UK number
A travel eSIM is data only. The UK has quietly become one of the more awkward places for this:
- Pay-by-phone parking systems often want a UK mobile number, and in many towns there is no cash option left at all.
- Delivery drivers and taxi drivers call rather than message.
- UK bank and retailer verification frequently sends a code by SMS to a UK number.
- Some public wifi networks verify by SMS.
If you are hiring a car, sort out parking payment before you need it — ask the hire company, or use a card-accepting machine where one exists. Give your accommodation's number where a local contact is demanded, and set up internet calling before you fly.
One arrival tip
Install the eSIM at home on wifi, then switch it on after landing: turn on cellular data and data roaming for the travel line, and turn cellular data off for your home SIM so it cannot quietly roam and bill you. Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted all have free wifi if you need to sort anything out on arrival.