O2 delays own brand broadband

O2 UK has let the date slip on the launch of its own-branded fixed line broadband service, following reported teething problems.

At parent Telefonica’s financial results announcement on Wednesday, it emerged that the operator has pushed back the launch of its O2 branded broadband offering back a few months to late summer.

O2 got on the UK broadband bandwagon with the acquisition of ADSL provider Be for £50m, last summer.

Be is in the process of building its own national broadband network, and had rolled out to over 632 exchanges by the end of the quarter, giving its broadband network a population coverage of around 40 per cent, with 24,000 customers.

Be was one of the first UK broadband providers to deploy ADSL2+, which allows it to offer speeds of up to 24Mbps.