A mobile network operator, also known as mobile service provider, mobile phone operator, or mobile company, is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers. The process of becoming a mobile network operator within a country usually begins by acquiring a radio spectrum license from the government. The precise spectrum obtained does depend on the type of mobile phone technology the operator intends to deploy. For example, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network will require a GSM frequency range. The government may allocate spectrum using whichever method it chooses, although the most common method is an auction. Recent allocation of 3G licenses in Europe have been auctioned.

A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a company that does not own a licensed frequency spectrum, but resells mobile services under their own brand name, using the network of another mobile phone operator. The first successful MVNO was Virgin Mobile, launched in the United Kingdom in 1999. An MVNO's roles and relationship to the mobile phone operator vary by market. In general an MVNO is an entity or company that works independently of the operator and can set its own pricing structures.

There are 5 main mobile network operators in the UK:
• 3
• O2
• Orange
• T-Mobile
• Vodafone

There are 3 main mobile virtual network operators (MVNO’s) in the UK:
• BT Mobile (Vodafone network)
• Tesco Mobile (O2 network)
• Virgin Mobile (T-Mobile network)

3 is a 3G mobile network operator based in Hong Kong, Europe and Australia, owned by Hutchison Whampoa, a well-known Hong Kong company. Hutchison Whampoa, through its subsidiaries and associated companies, holds 3G licenses in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom and markets its services under the global brand 3. As of August 2006, registered 3 customers worldwide numbered more than 13.5 million. 3 aggressively markets new handsets and services and launches many new products each year, lately focusing on Mobile TV related services. As with other 3G networks around the world, 3 allows video calling and fast Internet access from most of its handsets.

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BT Mobile is a Virtual Mobile Network Operator (MVNO) in the UK which uses the Vodafone network. A brand of the BT Group (formerly British Telecommunications plc) which trades as BT is the privatised UK state telecommunications operator. It is the dominant fixed line telecommunications provider in the United Kingdom. BT operates in more than 170 countries and almost a third of its revenue now comes from its Global Services division.

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Originally launched in 1985 and named Cellnet, the company's UK operation was originally a joint venture between BT and Securicor. In 1993 it launched mobile phone services, and in 1999 Securicor sold its remaining shares to BT and the company was renamed BT Cellnet. O2 was created in 2001 when BT Group demerged its mobile phone business as part of BT's plan to strengthen its financial position following over-expansion in the 1990s. The BT Cellnet consumer brand was renamed O2. In 2006, O2 was acquired by Spanish mobile giant Telefonica.

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Orange (founded in 1994) is a British telecommunications company specialising in mobile phones and subsequently Broadband Internet. After a period of three years it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1997 it had gained one million customers in the U.K. In 1999 the Company was sold to Mannesmann AG. The company headquarters are located across Europe. Orange is a mobile phone network operator and internet service provider now owned by Orange SA, a subsidiary of France Télécom.

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T-Mobile, previously known as one2one in the UK, is a mobile network operator (under the ownership of Deutsche Telekom) that operate GSM and UMTS networks in Europe and the United States. The "T" stands for "Telekom." Most subsidiaries of Deutsche Telekom have names beginning with "T-". T-Mobile also has financial stakes in mobile operators in Eastern Europe. Globally, T-Mobile has 101 million subscribers, making it the world's sixth largest mobile phone service provider by subscribers and the third largest multinational after the United Kingdom's Vodafone and Spain's Telefonica.

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Virgin Mobile is a Virtual Mobile Network Operator (MVNO) with operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States and France. The United Kingdom division is a subsidiary of Virgin Media Inc, formerly NTL:Telewest Incorporated. The company was the world's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator, launched in the United Kingdom in 1999. It does not maintain its own network, and instead has contracts to use the existing network(s) of other providers. In the United Kingdom, Virgin Mobile uses the T-Mobile network.

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Vodafone Group plc is a mobile network operator headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £86 billion (November 2006). Vodafone currently has equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Networks (networks in which it has no equity stake) in a further 33 countries. Its portfolio of global services, supported by its global brand, is available in a total of 59 countries. The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones.

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