Now before you laugh and say of course not, the answer to this question is actually a little more complex than it first appears. A decade ago, the response would most definitely have been no, of course, you do not need a television licence to have a mobile, but since phones have evolved the answer has changed. 

Do You Plan To Stream Movies & TV

If you are looking at the phone itself, then no, you won’t need a licence but, if you are talking about apps that stream movies, films and (ahem) television, you just might. In the UK, there are still stringent licensing laws regarding tele, and basically, the BBC holds the monopoly on such matters. It is an area that often catches university students out when they first go away from home as they forget that parents have been sorting these issues for years.

If you stream from a service like Netflix then no, you do not need a television licence as this is a streaming service and is not covered. The issue arises if you intend to download or watch any content from the BBC. Looking at the law, as explained on the TV licensing site, you will find the following:

A TV Licence is a legal permission to install or use television receiving equipment to watch or record television programmes as they are being shown on TV or live on an online TV service and to download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch up TV, on BBC iPlayer. This could be on any device, including TVs, desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, games consoles, digital boxes, DVD, Blu-ray and VHS recorders.

This applies regardless of which television channels a person receives or how those channels are received. The licence fee is not a payment for BBC services (or any other television service), although licence fee revenue is used to fund the BBC. The requirement to hold a TV Licence and to pay a fee for it is mandated by law under the Communications Act 2003 and Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 (as amended).

It is an offence to watch or record television programmes as they are being shown on any channel and on any broadcast platform (terrestrial, satellite, cable and the internet) or download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch up TV, on BBC iPlayer without a valid TV Licence.’

Mobile phones are explicitly mentioned, and the fact you did not know is sadly no defence if you are caught using your mobile phone to watch or download anything from the good old Beeb. There is little excuse as when you do use iPlayer you are warned many times and even asked to confirm that you do have a television licence.

So the answer to the original question is you DO need a TV licence if you intend to watch any content as described above on your mobile phone. It still applies if you are out on 4G not WiFi, and you would have to prove you have a valid television licence at home (which of course will cover more than just one person but it must be there).