EE Business review: Our favourite network of 2023

EE is now a long-established brand in the mobile industry, and being part of the BT family gives it extra authority, but if you were looking for any other reason to place your faith in EE then the fact that it almost swept the board in the Expert Reviews Business Mobile Network Awards should seal the deal.

When it came to speed, reliability, value for money and the choice of phones offered by a network, EE topped our poll. In fact, the only category in which it fell short was network coverage, where it came in a very close second to Vodafone.

EE isn’t the cheapest network – its SIM-only deals start at £15/mth and, even then, only if you’re willing to commit for two years – yet the results of our survey indicate that customers still believe the network offers good value for money.

Let’s dig deeper into what EE has to offer business customers.

EE Business review: What do you get?

EE came out top for the choice of handsets it offers business customers, and it’s easy to see why: the network offers deals on a wide range of devices, from the most basic handsets from little-known brands such as the Doro 7030, all the way to the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and much more.

It’s worth paying attention to the contract duration when you’re pricing up deals on EE’s Small Business website as it tends to default to 36-month deals, rather than the usual 24, making the deals look cheaper than they actually are. For example, if you want the Z Flip 5, you might find it’s priced at a tempting £34/mth for 100GB of data, but that contract will cost you more than £1,200 over the full duration.

There are other odd quirks in EE’s pricing, too. For example, at the time of writing, a 24-month deal for the Z Flip 5 with 100GB of data costs £47/mth, with a one-off £8 fee. However, if you drop down to 10GB or 50GB of data then you’ll find that the deals are considerably more expensive: £51 and £53 per month respectively, with a £50 one-off fee. So always make sure you check out the full range of tariffs that are on offer before making a decision and you don’t simply filter by the amount of data you need – you might actually save money by buying more.

EE also offers a range of SIM-only deals for those who prefer to pay for their handsets up front, but again costs vary depending on the length of the contract you’re willing to commit to.

Even though EE is by no means the cheapest, that didn’t stop the network from winning our value for money award, though only by a narrow margin from O2. A healthy 80% of EE customers said they were satisfied with the value on offer.

EE Business review: Customer service

EE was the clear winner for customer service among the four major networks in our survey. It was the only company to record more than 90% satisfaction, and had the smallest proportion of dissatisfied customers too.

It’s worth noting that our findings are similar to those of the regulator, Ofcom, where EE was one of the companies that had the fewest complaints about pay-monthly mobiles.

EE Business review: Coverage, reliability and speed

Businesses crave reliability when it comes to their telecoms, so it’s worth noting that EE was, again, the only company to score more than 90%, scooping this category’s award.

Of course, reliability of service and coverage are intrinsically linked – you can have the most reliable network in the country, but if it doesn’t reach the places you do business then it’s effectively useless. EE customers have few worries here, though, with the network earning a score of 92% for coverage satisfaction, earning a Highly Commended award. Vodafone actually triumphed here, but only by the slenderest of margins.

Speed is not a concern for EE either, with 90% of business customers happy with its performance, winning the network yet another award.

EE Business review: Roaming

If you travel for business regularly, be sure to check the fine details of your tariff. On some of EE’s more expensive tariffs, you get Inclusive Extras (see below), and one of these is the Roam Abroad Pass, which lets you use inclusive minutes, texts and data across most of Europe and in seven other countries, including the US and Australia.

If you don’t have that perk then you have the option to bolt it on for £10/mth, for a minimum of 30 days.

EE Business review: Extras

As we previously mentioned, some tariffs come with Inclusive Extras, adding benefits to your deal. These can include roaming passes (see above), Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Apple Music/Arcade/TV subscriptions and TNT Sports packages that can allow you to watch a selection of Premier League football games and more.

Check your tariff to see how many Inclusive Extras you qualify for. For example, the All-Rounder SIM-only deals throw in one Inclusive Extra, while the Full Works tariff provides three, albeit at a hefty premium.

EE Business review: Verdict

There are doubtless cheaper networks than EE, and some bundle roaming without any additional charges. However, there’s no doubt that EE put up a very strong showing right across the board, comfortably making it the business network that Expert Reviews readers recommend.