| O2
O2 offer a range of home broadband, mobile broadband and business broadband packages. O2 's high speed LLU network and ADSL2+ technology gives O2 customers broadband speeds up to 20Mb.
Home broadband is available in two speeds - 8Mb and 20Mb and all O2's broadband packages come with unlimited monthly usage. O2 offer a £5 discount off their monthly home broadband payment for customers who have an O2 pay monthly mobile plan.
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Up to 8Mb broadband & free wireless router Up to 8Mb unlimited broadband. Free O2 wireless box. Free connection. Up to 8Mb Unlimited Broadband Free Setup and Wireless Router McAfee Security Software | 20Mb broadband & free enhanced wireless router Up to 20Mb unlimited broadband & 2.5Mb upload speed. Free O2 wireless router. Non O2 customers pay £22.50 Up to 20Mb Unlimited Broadband Inclusive O2 Wireless Router Free UK Customer Service 24/7 | Asus 1005H Laptop & free USB modem 3GB monthly allowance. Asus 1005H laptop - 10" LCD screen, 1GB memory, 160GB hard drive, Windows XP. Free USB modem. Up to 3.6Mb Mobile Broadband Asus 1005H laptop Free USB Modem |
Featured O2 packages
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| 12 months | FREE no fee | £7.50 per month | |
| 12 months | FREE no fee | £10.00 per month | |
| 12 months | FREE no fee | £17.50 per month | |
O2's History
O2 are part of one of the world's largest telecommunications provider businesses, Telefonica Europe, which developed from BT divesting its mobile phone interests at the start of the 2000s. At the time, the company only operated in the UK and offered only mobile phone services and an internet portal. Since then, O2 has been taken over by the Spanish operator, Telefonica, and the O2 brand operates in a number of countries around the world, with the company now being a strong player in the landline broadband internet market as well as its traditional mobile focus.
With the advent of 3G technology, the company has been able to combine its interests in mobile phones and fixed line broadband to offer 'mobile' broadband. This does not refer to the internet services available via the company's mobile phones, rather it is a service allowing customers to access the internet from a personal computer using a mobile internet modem via O2's 3G mobile network, which offers the transfer of more data than the previous 2G mobile network. This is the same technology that is used to deliver services such as video telephony to mobile phones.
The company currently offers four different options for those seeking mobile broadband services. The most straightforward option is the 'pay as you go' service, which works in a similar way to pay as you go mobile phone arrangements. This allows you to buy a 'bundle' of usage at a time, without being tied down to a contract. The bundle will include a certain amount of download usage (e.g. 0.5GB, 1GB or 3GB), which must be used within a set period (e.g. one day, one week or one month respectively for the download usages given).
The pay as you go option requires you to purchase a USB modem, which plugs into a USB port on your PC or Mac, and is necessary to enable your computer to receive mobile broadband data, unless the computer already has Wi Fi connectivity built in. This is currently around £30 from O2, and features 'plug and play' functioning, with minimal set up required.
If you expect to use mobile broadband a lot, then pay monthly contracts are available. Many providers only offer these on long term contracts, and indeed, O2's best packages are typically on its 18 month and 24 month deals, which currently feature the same download usage (3GB or 10GB, depending on monthly price) at cut price for the first few months, and also include a free USB modem. In the past the firm has also offered additional usage for longer term packages for the same cost.
However, as has been the trend with mobile packages, the firm are hoping to attract those who expect to use the service regularly but do not want such a long term commitment and, therefore, O2 also offer monthly 'rolling' contracts.
This arrangement means that customers can choose to leave the service at any time, and only have to pay for the remainder of that month's fee, whilst benefiting from better prices than the pay and go arrangement. O2 also offers packages that include a wireless laptop, for anybody looking to upgrade their computer at the same time, whilst separate tariffs are available for business users.
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