spusu review 2026: is it as good as other EE-based networks?

We don’t just think spusu are a very good option because they’re cheap. We now think they offer a lot of what anyone is looking for in a mobile network, not just value hunters.

Coverage is superb and equal to EE. Data speeds are faster than most other networks on 4G. And they’ve sorted their WiFi calling, VoLTE and HD calling, so calls are now on par with practically every other provider.

Receiving our SIM card

Our joining letter

3-piece popout SIM

Ordering an eSIM

Joining spusu even gets you extras like EU roaming, some international calls and the ability to ring them up and speak to customer services in the UK within minutes. What major network all offers that as standard?

A few things still hold spusu back. We found you do get lower bandwidth than EE customers when busy. We’d like to see visual voicemail added. And we have niggling doubts about OTP texts not coming through.

But ultimately, this is a cheap and flexible 1-month SIM. If you want big-name reassurance, go and pay £30+ a month on a long contract. We think spusu have more than enough to keep everyone else happy.

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FAQs about spusu

Who owns spusu?

spusu is its own limited company, not owned by any other UK mobile network. It is a brand owned by an Austrian company, Mass Response Service GmbH, who operate the spusu brand in multiple European countries.

Which network does spusu use?

In the UK, spusu uses the full EE network, giving you access to all their 2G, 4G and 5G masts.

Is there a credit check to join spusu?

No. You pay for spusu by registering a UK debit or credit card. There are no credit checks to join.

Do spusu support eSIM?

Yes. And it’s really good. We’ve installed one ourselves. It’s easy, quick and costs no extra.

Is spusu as fast as EE?

Yes and no. If there are lots of EE phones around, we’ve found your spusu SIM can be slowed down to give them priority over bandwidth. At other times, we’ve recorded nearly identical speeds to EE directly with our spusu SIM.

Is spusu coverage the same as EE?

Yes we’d say so. Our side-by-side tests found our spusu SIM registered on the exact same masts with the exact same strengths as EE, every time.

Can I bring my number to spusu?

Yes. Just like every other network. Ask your old provider for a PAC code and give this to spusu in your online account and they’ll bring your number over.

What are the OTP text issues on spusu?

People have reported that SMS texts from their banks and similar online services don’t come through on spusu. This is because a network needs to accept messages from short code numbers. spusu say they have added support from the most popular services but can’t guarantee every number will still work.

We find it hard to fault the coverage we’ve experienced on our spusu SIM card. Using the EE network is a massive advantage. Our spusu SIM was on the same band and signal strength as an EE one, every time we checked. Our tests found no coverage differences between them.

Same 5G locations as EE

Band 20 4G works

Industry regulators Ofcom say spusu have the largest amount of the country covered with 4G and 5G data. We found it rare not to have a usable data connection, even on rural roads and rail. To lose calls, you’d have to be somewhere really geographically odd or isolated.

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It’s still worth still checking signal in your area here. Our spot checks found the map accurate. Don’t just check at home. Think about frequent journey routes and pay attention to indoor/outdoor predictions.

There’s also absolutely loads of 5G around on spusu. In city centres, it offers a massive advantage vs 4G. But a lot of the time in residential areas and smaller towns, we didn’t really feel any benefit.

Overall, we’ve been delighted with the coverage we’ve got with our spusu SIM card. It’s the main reason to join.

Speeds are where using the UK’s fastest network EE comes into its own. spusu say they have no top speed caps. And our own testing confirms this. We got up to a colossal 140 Mbps over 4G and 300 Mbps over 5G.

Those results would put lots of home broadband to shame. They are maximums though. Independent network testers Opensignal’s millions of tests say to expect typical downloads over the EE network of around 45 Mbps.

Our own experience on spusu would definitely back that up. Good 4G in residential areas would more often be in the 60 Mbps range. Great city centre 4G above 100 Mbps. Though in smaller towns and village you could be below 10 Mbps.

Choose a superfast SIM on spusu

One downside is that our tests did prove spusu customers get lower priority when there are lots of EE phones nearby. Speed tests on our spusu SIM would run 30% slower than our EE SIM running at the same time. But the spusu SIM would spring back to full speed when tested alone.

A city centre 5G reading

Less bandwidth than EE SIM

Back to full speed when no EE

This wasn’t something we ever noticed in day-to-day usage (only when conducting simultaneous head-to-head speed tests). Generally, we’d say spusu feel noticeably faster than basically any other mobile network.

In our most recent test, we’ve been really pleased to find that spusu have fixed some of the gremlins they had with their calling technologies: WiFi calling and VoLTE (make/take calls without regular mobile signal).

Firstly, we found WiFi calls and 4G/5G calls (VoLTE) are now HD audio compatible. That’s made a noticeable improvement in the clarity of calls. This was one of our previous complaints with spusu.

HD calling works on spusu

WiFi preferred option works

Also sorted is the fact you can now switch between a WiFi call and 4G/5G call mid-way through and the call won’t drop. That’s very useful if you’re moving about and leave WiFi range.

And we also like that we could actively choose “WiFi calling preferred” on our Andoid device. This makes it so your phone doesn’t wait for poor mobile signal to switch to WiFi calling. It kicks in nice and early.

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Do check spusu’s list of officially supported devices for WiFi calling here. It’s not necessarily a full list but does provide peace of mind up front. Overall, we’re now pleased to say spusu fulfil our call quality expectations.

You can join spusu on either a physical SIM card or an eSIM (read spusu’s full eSIM guide here). This lets you scan a QR code and get connected to the network nearly instantly, without a physical SIM.

We’ve done it ourselves and been very impressed at how quick and slick the process is. You can even phone their customer service and switch between physical SIMs and eSIMs.

Get an eSIM only plan on spusu

It’s the best of spusu’s advanced network features. Their call forwarding is pretty decent too. If your phone’s busy, you can set a number up in your online account that calls will be diverted to.

An eSIM PDF

Loads of voicemail settings

There’s not much else by way of extra features. Visual voicemail is the main missing feature for iPhone users. There’s nothing like free WiFi hotspots either, which some networks offer. spusu are fairly typical for budget networks.

It’s nice that spusu include EU roaming on all their plans, plus a couple of non-EU countries too (though it’s no surprise on a budget operator that no worldwide roaming outside Europe is included).

Get EU roaming with any of these spusu SIMs

We’ve not used our spusu SIM abroad but our questions behind-the-scenes suggest that spusu don’t use EE’s standard roaming partners, so your data might be a bit laggier while you’re roaming than usual.

spusu are mid-range for how much of your plan you can use for EU roaming. Their fair usage policy for data varies between plans, from about 20% to 60% of your usual UK data (they make it clear against each plan).

Unusually, spusu also give you a separate allowance of EU minutes (usually 500 per month), which you can use when you’re in the UK to make international calls. It’s also what gets used while you’re roaming.

Overall, spusu put the big networks to shame for EU roaming and compete very nicely against the smaller operators (see all networks with EU roaming here). Worldwide roaming can get expensive though (see costs).

If you’re worried about overspending or are handing the SIM over to someone you don’t fully trust, we think spusu are one of the best choices. The way their spending caps works is excellent.

In your online account, you can set things up exactly as you want them. Either set everything to £0 overspend and you’ll only ever pay the cost of your plan. Or you can micromanage each limit individually to the pound.

Set a £0 spend cap on any spusu SIM card

For a cheap network, we wish spusu would be a bit more clear with price rises. They don’t say they will up your plan price ever. But they also don’t say they won’t. spusu quietly shelved an old “Price Freeze” claim.

Clear usage tracking

Easy to cancel plan

And it’s a shame there’s no way to change your plan or pause it in your online account. If you want to change plans, you have to contact their customer services. They’ll move it up or down but it’s annoyingly manual.

We’d say their telephone based customer service is one of the top reasons to join spusu. It’s refreshingly good and puts big networks to shame, never mind their smaller virtual provider competitors.

spusu don’t bury their contact info. It’s all clearly available here. We’ve phoned spusu several times. There are no annoying options to pick and you almost immediately get through to someone clearly in the UK.

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Their WhatsApp messaging based agents also get to the point pretty quickly with your queries. Though it did take a couple of hours for them to respond. Once they did, they had the answer though.

2 hours to get WhatsApp response

Clear usage tracking

Their app and online account area are decent enough. You can manage quite a few different things in there. And you get a really nice, clear overview of your usage and bills. Though a few more features would save you having to call.

If we had a complaint, it would be that spusu’s online help articles section is pretty threadbare. It’s just a few FAQs. If they built that out a bit more, people wouldn’t need to phone them so often.