1. What these terms cover
These product terms are for the planned public Lodestar Mobile service. The intended tariff includes mobile data, minutes and texts. Lodestar Voice is a different product with separate terms.
Before public service opens, Lodestar will confirm the retail provider and give each customer final contract information and a contract summary. The customer's order confirmation, contract information and contract summary will state the tariff, prices, start date, any minimum term and any terms that are specific to that customer.
If those personalised documents conflict with general product terms, the personalised documents will take priority.
2. The planned service
Lodestar Mobile will use a compatible SIM or eSIM to provide mobile data, ordinary VoLTE calls and SMS where a working Lodestar radio and supporting network are available. The public launch tariff is intended to cost £5 per month and include unlimited data, 3,000 minutes and 3,000 texts in each billing month.
Lodestar's own radio and core will not carry calls to 999 or 112. Every handset that currently passes Lodestar VoLTE testing has also passed the test of leaving Lodestar and moving to another available UK mobile network for a Limited Service State call, as explained in section 5.
Public eSIM ordering is coming soon and will be limited to customers whose exact location has confirmed Lodestar coverage. There is no claim of national coverage or ordinary national roaming.
The final contract information will state the available network technology, compatible equipment requirements, estimated maximum and advertised upload and download speeds, and whether any minimum latency, jitter, packet-loss or availability level is offered. No unstated service level applies.
3. Coverage and performance
Lodestar coverage is local. Small pockets are currently available in Nuneaton, Kings Norton, Burntwood and Great Gransden. These place names do not mean town-wide coverage. Service exists only close to a working Lodestar radio and supporting backhaul.
Expansion is planned towards Edinburgh, Tadpole Garden Village, Basildon, Leicester, Bedworth and Coventry. A planned location has no guaranteed coverage area, activation date or service commitment.
Lodestar will activate a cell only where its site checks find usable coverage from at least one other UK mobile network. This site-selection rule is intended to leave a potential route for an emergency call that exits Lodestar, but it is not a guarantee that another network will remain available or that a handset will connect.
Coverage and speed can vary with distance from the radio, walls, trees, terrain, interference, the customer's device and antenna, backhaul capacity, maintenance and the number of people sharing the cell. Any map or availability check will be an estimate, not a guarantee for every room or exact spot.
Current service health is published on the public network dashboard.
If performance repeatedly falls materially below the information supplied before contract, the customer can ask Lodestar to investigate. Any remedy will reflect the contract, applicable regulation and the customer's statutory rights.
4. Unlimited data and network management
Unlimited applies only to data. It means the tariff has no monthly data-volume allowance, per-gigabyte overage charge or suspension imposed solely because the customer crosses a hidden usage threshold. The 3,000-minute and 3,000-text allowances remain separate limits.
Internet traffic will be treated equally. Ordinary traffic management will be transparent, proportionate, non-discriminatory, based on technical need rather than the content or application, and used only for as long as necessary.
Lodestar may take the minimum proportionate action needed to:
- comply with a law, court order or requirement from an authorised body;
- protect the network, services or users' equipment from a genuine security threat; or
- manage impending or exceptional temporary congestion fairly between affected users.
The final contract information will explain any traffic-management measure and its practical effect on speed, quality, privacy and the use of normal online services.
5. Calls, texts and emergency access
The intended tariff includes 3,000 minutes and 3,000 texts in each billing month. These are separate allowances and neither is described as unlimited.
Before ordering opens, the tariff and contract summary will identify the included destinations, excluded or blocked services, how usage is measured, whether unused allowances carry forward, and what happens when an allowance is used. Lodestar will notify a customer when an allowance is exhausted and state any resulting charge or restriction.
Calls to 999 and 112 are not carried by Lodestar, do not use the 3,000-minute allowance and will not be charged for by Lodestar. In Lodestar's tests, every handset that supports Lodestar VoLTE leaves Lodestar when either number is dialled and moves to another available UK mobile network for a Limited Service State emergency call. That network carries the call, not Lodestar. This is emergency mobile roaming, not ordinary roaming.
Lodestar will activate a cell only where its site checks find usable coverage from at least one other UK mobile network. This reduces risk but does not guarantee an emergency connection. The route still depends on compatible handset behaviour and the other network remaining available. If no other network is available, the call cannot connect. Lodestar does not control the availability or performance of the network that carries the call.
A Limited Service State call may not provide the customer's normal telephone number or precise location, and the emergency organisation may be unable to call the customer back if the call disconnects. The customer should tell the operator their location and telephone number clearly.
This section describes voice calls to 999 and 112. It does not mean that an emergency text message will roam in the same way. Lodestar will publish its supported emergency-text and accessibility arrangements before public service opens.
The handoff has passed testing on every handset that currently passes Lodestar VoLTE testing. Any newly supported model must also pass both tests. Before public ordering opens, Lodestar will publish compatibility information and complete the emergency-access and caller-location arrangements required for the service. Nothing in these terms limits any statutory or regulatory responsibility applying to Lodestar.
6. Devices, SIMs and eSIMs
A customer must use a lawful, compatible and unlocked device that supports the network configuration stated before activation. Lodestar may restrict equipment only where a restriction is technically necessary, required by law or needed to address a genuine security risk.
Current testing has found Lodestar VoLTE working on iPhone 12 and newer models. It has also worked on later Samsung models tested by Lodestar, although the exact supported-model list is not final. Some Google Pixel models have worked only after additional technical configuration and are not currently treated as straightforward, plug-and-play support.
These results do not guarantee support across every regional model, software release or carrier configuration. Mobile data or SMS working does not prove VoLTE compatibility. Lodestar tests ordinary VoLTE and the Limited Service State emergency-call handoff separately; every handset that currently passes the VoLTE test has also passed the handoff test.
Before ordering opens, Lodestar will publish the exact supported models, relevant software requirements and any approved configuration steps. Customers will not be expected to rely on an undocumented device modification.
The final terms will state whether tethering and use in routers are supported. They will not impose an arbitrary restriction on a customer's choice of compatible equipment.
Public eSIM ordering is planned to open only after coverage has been confirmed for the intended location. Device eligibility and activation instructions will be shown before ordering.
A physical SIM will remain Lodestar property unless an order confirmation says otherwise. The customer must keep any SIM, eSIM profile and account credentials secure and tell Lodestar promptly if they are lost, stolen, copied or used without permission.
7. Acceptable use
A customer must not use the service to:
- break the law or infringe another person's rights;
- attack, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to a network, account or device;
- distribute malware or deliberately expose others to a security risk;
- send unlawful unsolicited bulk communications;
- impersonate another person or manipulate a network or device identifier;
- evade a lawful restriction or security control; or
- resell the service without a written wholesale agreement.
A high volume of data is not, by itself, prohibited use where the tariff is described as unlimited.
8. Security, restriction and suspension
Lodestar will respond proportionately to misuse, non-payment, fraud and security threats. Where reasonably possible, Lodestar will explain the concern, warn the customer and allow a reasonable opportunity to put it right before restricting service.
Immediate action may be taken where delay would create a serious risk of harm, fraud, illegality or network compromise, or where an authorised body requires it. Lodestar will restrict only the affected service where technically feasible and restore it when the reason for restriction has been resolved.
9. Contract, payment and cancellation
The advertised £5 is the total recurring monthly price for a consumer. VAT will be included where it applies. Before agreement, the customer will receive the complete price, any unavoidable activation, SIM or delivery charge, allowances, usage charges, payment timing, contract duration, renewal and cancellation process in a form they can keep.
A consumer who agrees online or by telephone will normally have 14 days after the contract is made to change their mind. If the customer expressly asks for service to start during that period and later cancels, a properly disclosed proportionate charge may be made for service already supplied.
The final documents will provide simple online, email and postal cancellation routes. They will also explain switching, number-porting and prepaid-credit refunds if the tariff includes a mobile number or purchased credit.
10. Changes and withdrawal
Lodestar may make minor administrative or technical changes with no negative effect, changes required by law, and proportionate changes needed for security or interoperability.
For another contractual change, Lodestar will give the notice and exit rights required by law. Any scheduled in-contract subscription-price increase will be stated in pounds and pence, with the date it takes effect, before the customer agrees.
11. Information and privacy
Providing a mobile service requires account, device, network, traffic, usage, billing and cell-location information. Before service opens, a separate Mobile privacy notice will explain each purpose and lawful basis, recipients, retention period, international transfer and the customer's rights.
Lodestar will not use traffic or location information for an unrelated value-added service or marketing without the permission required by law.
12. Complaints
Complaints can be started by email at hello@lodestarnetworks.co.uk or by post to Lodestar Networks Ltd, 66 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NA.
Before service opens, Lodestar will publish a complaints code, a telephone route and the approved alternative dispute resolution scheme. The final code will explain free referral after a deadlock letter or when a complaint has remained unresolved for the period set by Ofcom.
13. Responsibility and consumer rights
Lodestar will provide the service with reasonable care and skill. Lodestar will be responsible for foreseeable loss caused by a breach of contract or failure to use reasonable care and skill.
Nothing in the final terms will exclude or limit liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, statutory consumer rights, regulatory responsibilities or anything else the law does not allow a provider to exclude or limit.
English law will govern a consumer contract, without removing any mandatory rights the customer has under the law where they live.