SMARTY is a mobile telephone brand running as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator using the Three network in the United Kingdom. A sub-brand of the Three company, the operator aims to attract customers primarily looking for cheaper deals than those available with Three directly, by offering a monthly rolling SIM-only service, limited to online-only support. Uniquely, the operator offers to buy back unused data by means of a bill discount, a practice which isn't widespread in the UK, but is exhibited elsewhere such as by US carrier Ting.
Tariffs
Monthly plans are paid for in advance by credit card, debit card, or via PayPal, rather than via the more prevalent Direct Debit method, with the retailer suggesting that customers with a poor credit rating will not be credit checked or declined their service. The tariff structure comprises a £5 service charge which provides unlimited airtime and SMS messaging within the UK, with mobile data usage charged for each megabyte consumed at a flat rate of £1.00 per gigabyte, yet customers with unused data allowance will receive a credit on their next month's bill for unused data, charged at the standard per-gigabyte rate. Prior to 5 February 2020, the rate charged for data was £1.25/GB. and calculated per megabyte. The concept of offering a discount off the next month's bill for unused data is unique amongst UK mobile operators, as is the unified price of data add-ons; 1GB of data is priced the same, regardless of whether it is purchased in advance as part of a customer's monthly rolling plan, or whether it is purchased as an add-on which is consumed only when a customer's monthly allowance is used up. In this respect, SMARTY's offerings are functionally equivalent to standard pay-as-you-go tariffs offered by other providers, such as Three's own PAYG offering. In February 2019, an unlimited data plan was launched at a cost of £25 a month, which is not subject to throttling or slow-down, regardless how much data is used. Upon launch, SMARTY offered hotspot and tethering functionality, although they did not offer the ability to call foreign numbers, roam abroad, or dial premium numbers. As of June 2018, these features are now available. In early 2018, SMARTY launched a refer-a-friend program. If a customer refers a friend, both get a free month on SMARTY. There are also no limits to this so in theory if a customer refers one friend a month they will keep their mobile bill free.
