What's the best UK business mobile for a remote-first tech company?

Mix tiers across roles — 100GB / unlimited international for leadership, 50GB / 500 international for dev teams, 25GB / 200 international for ops. Typical cost £25-30 per user per month across the company. Bundle with Microsoft 365 for 10% discount.

Can business mobiles be managed via Microsoft Intune?

Yes. Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Intune, which manages mobile devices (policies, PIN enforcement, remote wipe, work profile separation). Bundle Microsoft 365 and business mobile through CTN for a 10% discount on Microsoft licences.

Do we need business SIMs if we use Teams and Slack for everything?

For voice, Teams Phone can cover most needs. But mobile SIMs are still required for SMS-based 2FA, cellular connectivity when WiFi fails, and international roaming at conferences. Most remote-first teams use mobile SIMs plus Teams/Slack together, not either-or.

How do we handle tech events in non-inclusive countries like Dubai or Singapore?

Options: international add-on bolt-ons for UK SIMs covering specific countries; dual-SIM setup with local eSIM for the trip (most common for tech-aware teams); or regional SIMs for frequent non-inclusive travel alongside UK SIMs for primary use.

Business Mobile for Tech Companies & Remote Teams UK (2026)

Name: Compare The Networks
Address: Unit 3, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury, SY1 3FE, GB
Telephone: +441743598025
Price range: Free comparison service
Rating: 4.3

Last updated: April 2026

Tech companies and remote-first UK businesses have a distinctive mobile setup problem: your people are everywhere. Developers in Lisbon coworking spaces. Founders at conferences in Berlin, Amsterdam, Austin. Sales on the train between cities. Leadership offsites in Barcelona. Customer success calling EU and US customers daily.

Generic UK business mobile plans aren't built for this pattern. Here's what is.

The remote-team pattern

Typical usage across a 20-person UK tech company:

2-3 founders / senior leadership — travel heavily (conferences, investor meetings, customer visits), heavy call and data users
Dev team (10-15 people) — some London-office, some remote across UK and occasionally EU. Heavy data users (Slack, GitHub, Linear, cloud tools). Light callers.
Sales / customer success (3-5 people) — daily calls to UK / EU / USA customers. Moderate travel.
Ops / finance (1-2 people) — mostly UK-based. Light travel, moderate calling.

For this pattern:

Leadership — 100GB / unlimited international. They need everything everywhere. ~£30-35/user/mo
Dev team — 50GB / 500 international. Heavy data, occasional travel. ~£24-28/user/mo
Sales / CS — 50GB / 500 or 100GB / unlimited depending on call volume. ~£26-32/user/mo
Ops — 25GB / 200 international. ~£22-26/user/mo

Total for a 20-person company mixing tiers: approximately £500-600/month (~£6,000-£7,200/year) on 36-month terms.

What tech teams actually use mobiles for

Data, heavily

Slack, Teams, Linear, Notion, GitHub mobile — low-bandwidth but always on
Video calls on the move (Zoom, Teams, Meet) — bandwidth-heavy
Hotel WiFi fallback when hotel WiFi is terrible — tethering laptop to phone
Conference networking apps and event platforms
Customer call recording review via cloud apps

2FA and SMS

Bank 2FAs, AWS 2FAs, the 30 SaaS tools your team uses
Each of which expects a mobile number that works wherever the user is
Which means: UK SIMs need to receive texts reliably, everywhere

Occasional calls

Customer sales calls (scheduled; usually via Zoom/Meet)
Urgent customer escalations
Recruiting calls with candidates
Investor calls while travelling

Actual voice volume is usually lower than data, but voice needs to work reliably when it's needed.

The conference / event angle

Tech conferences are inclusive roaming's sweet spot:

SaaStock Dublin — inclusive
Web Summit Lisbon — inclusive
SXSW Austin — inclusive (USA)
4YFN / Mobile World Congress Barcelona — inclusive
TechBBQ Copenhagen — inclusive
London Tech Week — inclusive (domestic)
AWS re:Invent Las Vegas — inclusive (USA)
GITEX Dubai — NOT inclusive (UAE not on list)
TechCrunch Disrupt SF — inclusive (USA)

For all the EU and USA tech events, CTN's inclusive roaming means attendees use their normal allowance. For Middle East or Asian events, local eSIMs for the trip.

Handsets and BYOD

Tech teams often have strong opinions on phones. Common patterns:

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) with business SIM: company issues SIM, staff use their own handset. Cost-effective, preserves staff preference, but requires mobile device management (MDM) for security.

Company-issued iPhones: preferred by many leadership and senior staff. Usually provisioned with Microsoft 365 Business Premium + Intune, covering both email/Teams and device security.

Pixel / Samsung for dev teams: tech-forward teams often prefer Android for flexibility. Same Intune coverage applies.

Dual-SIM for leaders: founders and senior leaders who travel heavily often use dual-SIM (UK SIM as primary, local eSIM for trips). CTN SIMs work well as the UK primary in this setup.

Security considerations

Tech companies handle code, customer data, credentials — targets for phishing and device theft. Baseline we recommend for any tech business mobile deployment:

MDM (Intune or similar) managing every device — enforce PIN/biometric, auto-lock, encryption
Remote wipe capability — lost phone = wipe company data
Separate work/personal profiles — Android Work Profile, iOS BYOD configuration
App restrictions — block unknown app sources on managed devices
No personal app sign-ins on company email account — prevents Slack, Linear, Notion having your personal iCloud photos

This is Microsoft 365 Business Premium territory (Intune included). Bundle Microsoft 365 + business mobile through CTN for the 10% bundle discount.

Typical objections and honest answers

"Our team already uses Google Voice / Skype numbers, we don't need business mobiles"

VoIP numbers work for calls when on WiFi. They fail when on cellular-only in transit, during conferences when WiFi is swamped, or for 2FA texts that many services require on a real mobile number. Most remote-first teams we work with landed on mobile-plus-VoIP rather than pure VoIP.

"Everyone uses their personal phone"

Works until it doesn't — security incident, staff leaves with customer contacts, personal numbers given out that can't be reclaimed. For 5+ person teams, company SIMs are usually the right move.

"We're too distributed — everyone's in a different country"

If staff are permanently based in different countries, a UK SIM probably isn't right — see our UK staff working abroad guide. For a mostly-UK team with occasional travel, UK business SIMs work.

"We travel to Asia a lot"

CTN's inclusive roaming covers much of Asia Pacific (Australia, New Zealand are on the list; others aren't). For heavy China, Singapore, or Middle East travel, consider local eSIMs for trips while keeping UK SIMs for primary use.

FAQs

What's the best UK business mobile tariff for a remote-first tech company?

For mixed teams: mix tiers. Leadership on 100GB / unlimited international, dev teams on 50GB / 500 international, ops on 25GB / 200 international. Typical cost £25-30 per user per month on 36-month terms.

Can you manage the phones via Microsoft Intune?

Yes. CTN supplies Microsoft 365 Business Premium (which includes Intune) bundled with business mobile at a 10% bundle discount. We can deploy Intune policies for device management across the fleet.

Do we need dedicated business mobiles if we use Slack/Teams for everything?

For heavy Slack/Teams-only communication, VoIP numbers via Teams Phone can cover voice. But mobile SIMs are still needed for: 2FA SMS, cellular connectivity when WiFi fails, and conference/travel roaming. Most remote-first teams use mobile SIM plus Teams/Slack together.

How do we handle staff who travel heavily to non-inclusive destinations?

Three options: (1) international add-on bolt-ons on the UK SIM for specific countries; (2) dual-SIM with local eSIM for the trip; (3) for frequent Asian / Middle East travel, a separate regional SIM alongside UK. We'll scope based on travel patterns.

Can CTN handle a 50-person tech company's mobile deployment?

Yes. We set up account structures for multi-user deployments, bulk provisioning, centralised billing and support. Single account manager across the whole fleet.

Getting a quote

Call 01743 598025 or request a quote. Tell us team size, rough split of roles (leadership / dev / sales / ops), typical travel patterns, and any Microsoft 365 or VoIP needs.