O2 4G Tariffs To Feature Digital Content And Extra Data Deals

O2 hopes to attract customers to its 4G service with offers of additional data and music, sport and gaming content when it launches in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August.

All customers signing up to O2 4G will receive a minimum of 1GB of data with SIM only plans starting at £26 per month, with 3GB costing £32 a month and 5GB £36. However those signing up for the latter two packages before 31 October will receive 5GB and 8GB of data a month for the life of their contract.

Customers with an LTE compatible smartphone will be able to transfer to a 4G tariff without signing a new agreement, but those who want to purchase a 4G-ready handset can do so using the O2 Refresh service.

O2 4G Additional data

The cost of purchasing the device is between £10 and £25 a month depending on the payment plan, with 1GB of data costing an additional £22 a month, 3GB £27 and 5GB £32. Just like the SIM-only plans, this will be upgraded to 5GB or 8GB if users sign up before 31 October.

O2 has offered to write off 25 percent of existing subscribers’ remaining contracts to help with the transition to 4G, while its recycling service will pay up to £300 for older handsets. Those on both SIM-only and O2 Refresh plans will be able to add another 500MB of data for £6 or 1GB for £10, while access to O2’s network of 90,000 Wi-Fi hotspots is also included.

To sweeten the deal, customers will be offered a range of music, sport and gaming content, including 12 months of O2 Tracks, access to Priority Sports videos and multiplayer games from Gameloft that can be played exclusive of a user’s data allowance. Vodafone 4G, which launches on the same day, is offering its subscribers Free Sky Sports or Spotify.

Business deals

O2 has also announced details of its SIM-only packages for small businesses, which begin at £21.67 for 1GB of data on a 12 month contract, increasing to £30 a month for 5GB. All prices exclude VAT and like the consumer plans, will feature additional data if ordered before Halloween.

The O2 lease programme, which reduces the upfront cost of purchasing devices for small businesses, will be extended to cover 4G handsers, while mobile broadband and data-only tariffs will be available from £14.17 a month. Mobile Wi-Fi will launch in mid-September, while pay-as-you plans will be revealed at a later date.

EE has enjoyed a nine month head start over O2 and Vodafone, but Ben Dowd, O2 business director, told TechWeekEurope earlier this month that its late entry into the market would not be a major disadvantage while its tariffs would be better value than those of EE.

Value proposition

Some analysts have suggested this is not the case and that O2’s limited time additional data offer is not going to beneficial to those who live outside the three launch cities.

“O2 has finally entered the 4G fray by announcing its own range of competitive plans, but it seems to have fallen slightly short,” said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch. “As with the offerings from EE and Vodafone, O2’s vanilla 4G plans start at £26 a month. This will get you the same 1GB of mobile data as found on EE, but only half that of Vodafone’s 4G Red entry package. But those able to take advantage of an introductory offer can more than double their data on the higher tier plans.

“However, this plan is only available for those signing up before the end of October, so those who aren’t able to receive 4G in their town by then could face a ‘catch-22’ situation – sign up to a service they can’t use to get more data, or hold out but receive a smaller allowance when they can finally get access to it.”

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