Sainsbury's operated a virtual mobile network from 2001 until 2003 which closed due to being commercially unsustainable. In 2013 Sainsbury's re-entered the UK telecommunications industry when it launched a mobile phone network called Mobile by Sainsbury's. The virtual network was operated in partnership with Vodafone. The network was promoted heavily in-shop and most supermarkets started retailing SIM cards and handsets for the network. However, in 2015 Sainsbury's announced that the service would be closing in January 2016 after a breakdown in the relationship with its provider Vodafone.