Lidl adds 100,000 customers to newly launched mobile network

Lidl Connect offered unlimited domestic 5G data, unlimited calls and texts to Irish and UK networks, 50GB of EU and UK roaming data and 100 international minutes per month to eligible destinations

Robert Ryan, CEO of Lidl Ireland with cookbook author and food content creator Gina Daly at the launch of Lidl Connect. Picture: Damien Eagers / Julien Behal Photography

Budget supermarket chain Lidl has announced 100,000 people have signed up for its new mobile phone service with those customers securing the €8.99 a month “price for life” limited launch offer.

On Monday, October 5, the supermarket entered the competitive market with the launch of Lidl Connect. It offered unlimited domestic 5G data, unlimited calls and texts to Irish and UK networks, 50GB of EU and UK roaming data and 100 international minutes per month to eligible destinations.

The first 100,000 registered customers would secure the service for €8.99 per month for life. On Thursday, Lidl announced that it had hit this milestone.

Chief executive of Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland Robert Ryan said the response to the offer “has been extraordinary”. “Reaching 100,000 registrations so quickly demonstrates just how strongly Irish consumers respond to genuine value,” he said.

“This is also an important milestone in the continued development of Lidl Plus. Lidl Connect is a strong example of how we can leverage the scale of our customer base and focus on value to bring something new to the market.” 

Now that the €8.99 launch offer is no longer on the table, consumers can still sign up for Lidl Connect at the slightly higher price of €12.99 per month. Lidl is also promising this offer is a “price for life” but it is exclusively available through the Lidl Plus app.

Lidl Connect is being delivered with 1GLOBAL, Lidl’s global telecommunications partner, with the network in Ireland powered by eir. Customers can add up to three additional SIMs to their Lidl Plus account at €12.99 per month each.

The €12.99 offer is comparable with a number of other service providers currently on the market.

48, a sister brand of the telecoms firm Three, offer a deal that includes 5,000 minutes, 5,000 calls, unlimited data, and 20GB of data when in Europe for €9.99 for the first six months after which it increases to €12.99 a month.

Clear Mobile, which is on Vodafone’s network, offers unlimited calls and data as well as 10,000 texts for €12.99 a month. Sky Mobile offers unlimited calls, texts, data — at home and across the UK and the EU — for €15 a month.