After the Merger: Do SMARTY, iD Mobile, VOXI and Lebara Get Both Sets of Masts?

Vodafone and Three merged in 2025, and the new company, VodafoneThree, is joining two sets of masts into one network. If you pay Vodafone or Three directly the message has been simple: your phone uses whichever signal is better where you are standing. If you pay one of the smaller brands that run on those masts, the answer has been much harder to pin down, and it is not the same for every brand.

We read what each brand says on its own website on 10 October 2026. In short: SMARTY and VOXI both say their customers use both networks. iD Mobile's website says the same, but its own staff have said otherwise on its community forum. Lebara says it runs on Vodafone and says nothing about Three, so that one is not confirmed.

This guide covers that one question. What the merger means for prices, contracts and the wider market is in our separate guide to the Vodafone and Three merger, linked at the end. This is general information, and the brands can change their arrangements at any time.

How the two networks are being joined

Vodafone's own explainer calls the technology a Multi-Operator Core Network, or MOCN. Before it, a phone with a Three SIM could not use a Vodafone mast, and a phone with a Vodafone SIM could not use a Three mast. With it, a phone with either SIM connects to either company's mast, whichever gives the best signal in that place. The two core networks behind the masts stay separate. What is shared is the radio side.

Vodafone says there is nothing to change on the phone, that it works automatically and that it costs nothing extra. It also says the network name on your screen does not change. That matters when you are testing: you cannot tell from the top of the screen which company's mast you are on.

Sharing is switched on mast by mast, not across the country in one go. Vodafone's explainer says that as of April 2026 it had been enabled at 10,000 mast sites, starting in the areas that gain the most. It says some masts can be upgraded remotely while others need new hardware fitted, and that it expects most of the rollout to be finished within six years and all of it within eight.

SMARTY: yes, where sharing is live

SMARTY is Three's own budget brand, and Vodafone names it as one of the five VodafoneThree brands whose customers get network sharing at no extra charge. The other four are Vodafone, Three, VOXI and Talkmobile.

SMARTY's help page says that from August 2025, rolling out across the UK, SMARTY customers automatically use both Three's and Vodafone's networks and are connected to the strongest signal available at no extra cost. It says no action is needed, that there is no need to change settings or plan, and that your device will show your normal provider.

The same page is careful about the limits. Asked whether coverage for Three and Vodafone is now the same, it answers no: not all sites on either network are enabled right away, so coverage maps still vary by location. It also says not all masts support 5G, though 4G will be available. SMARTY says it will be in touch when your area is available and that its coverage checker is updated as sharing rolls out.

VOXI: yes, and it now describes itself that way

VOXI is Vodafone's own budget brand and is also on Vodafone's list of five. Its coverage checker page now says VOXI Mobile is on 'The Nation's Network', which it describes as the combined Vodafone and Three network, and that customers have access to two networks combined into one infrastructure. The page gives the same answer to the question 'What network does VOXI use?'.

The page carries the usual warning that its map is a computer generated prediction to be used as a guide only, not a guarantee of signal. The mast by mast rollout applies to VOXI in the same way as to everyone else.

iD Mobile: its website says yes, its staff have said not yet

iD Mobile is different. It belongs to Currys, not to VodafoneThree, and it uses Three's masts as a partner. It is not one of the five brands Vodafone lists.

iD's own page about the merger says VodafoneThree is upgrading its network 'so your phone will now connect to both Vodafone and Three, automatically switching to the strongest signal', without you needing to do anything. Its questions and answers say that in upgraded areas your phone will be able to connect to both networks, that it will still show iD Mobile, and that your plan, price and terms are not changing because of the merger.

On iD's own community forum, however, a reply from an iD Mobile employee in May 2026 said iD customers were still connected to the iD Mobile and Three network only at that time, and would not currently be able to connect to the Vodafone network. Customers in the same thread pointed out that this contradicts the website. We found no later statement from iD that settles it.

So treat iD Mobile as unsettled. If you are choosing iD because Vodafone is strong at your address and Three is not, ask iD in writing before you sign up, and keep the answer.

Lebara: not confirmed

Lebara is an independent brand that uses Vodafone's masts. Its website says 'Lebara's network runs on Vodafone', and its help pages send customers to Vodafone's checker to see where 5G is available.

We found nothing on Lebara's site that mentions Three's masts or network sharing, and Lebara is not on Vodafone's list of five brands. That does not prove Lebara customers are left out. It means nobody has said they are included anywhere we could read it. If you are picking Lebara for a place where only Three is strong, do not count on sharing. Ask Lebara first.

The same caution applies to any other brand on Vodafone or Three that is not named in this guide. We did not check every one.

What sharing does not give you

It does not include 5G standalone, the newer form of 5G. Vodafone's explainer says that for now sharing provides 4G and ordinary 5G, and that 5G standalone through sharing is planned for the future.

It does not merge the brands. SMARTY's page says customer service remains separate, that switching between the brands works as it did before, and that you still need a PAC to move your number from one to another.

It does not need a new SIM. Vodafone, SMARTY and iD Mobile all say you do not need to change your SIM card, phone number or personal details because of the merger. Vodafone and SMARTY add that scammers are targeting customers and that anyone who contacts you asking for those changes is a fraudster. Do not share a one-time passcode with anyone who calls or messages you about the merger.

How to check your own address

Start with the checker of the brand you pay or plan to join. SMARTY and VOXI both say theirs reflects the improved coverage. Vodafone's site also links to a VodafoneThree network improvement checker.

Then compare the networks side by side. Our coverage checker shows Vodafone and Three as separate rows for a postcode, next to EE and O2. If your brand is confirmed as sharing and either of the two is strong at your address, that is a good sign. It is not a promise, because the mast serving you may not have been switched over yet.

The only real proof is a test in the place that matters. A rolling monthly plan lets you try a brand for a month in the rooms where you use your phone. If it does not work there, leave and take your number with you by texting PAC to 65075.