O2 lights up fixed broadband service

UK mobile operator O2 confirmed the details of its forthcoming fixed line broadband package on Thursday, citing a launch date of October 15.

O2 intends to target the large proportion of UK consumers that are dissatisfied with their existing broadband service. One of the main complaints UK broadband subs have is lower than advertised speeds.

“O2 Broadband comes with the simple promise to make broadband better, by addressing the frustrations that have created dissatisfaction and creating an overall service quality that sets a new standard in the market,” the company said.

As revealed by telecoms.com on Wednesday, three discounted price plans will be available for O2 Pay Monthly customers starting with the Standard package at £7.50 per month for up for 8Mbps; the Premium package at £10 per month for up to 16Mbps; and the Ultimate package at £15 per month for speeds of up to 20Mbps. All package included ‘unlimited usage’ but a fair usage policy applies.

O2 prepay users and non-O2 customers will pay an additional £10 per month on each of the available packages.

Along with a plug and play wireless router, O2 is dipping its toe in to the convergence pool by allowing emails sent to your O2 account to be forwarded to your phone and address book synchronisation between the PC and mobile. Subscribers also get 100 free texts a month, which can be sent from a PC.

“The UK broadband market is fuelled by price competition but customers are also frustrated over hidden costs, bad customer service and technical complexity,” said Matthew Key, CEO of O2 UK. “O2 Broadband intends to shake up the market and be a breath of fresh air by offering a technologically-advanced service which also meets customer demand for a simple set up, receiving what you pay for with no broken promises.”

O2 claims its will cover 50 per cent of the population with ADSL2+, focusing on the major urban areas.