Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/06/10/o2_limited_data_plans/
O2 to step back from unlimited mobile data deals
Tighter data plans to debut alongside iPhone 4
Posted in Networks, 10th June 2010 13:30 GMT
O2 is to stop bundling 'unlimited' data access with the smartphones it sells.
Buy a smartphone on an O2 contract today and you'll get 'unlimited' data - well, unlimited up to the cut-off point mandated by O2' 'fair use' policy.
However, from 24 June - the day O2 begins selling the iPhone 4, we note - data will be capped at 500MB, 750MB or 1GB, depending on how much you pay each month. Contracts will run for two years.
Customers already tied in with a contract, and those who take one out before 24 June, will continue to receive 'unlimited' data access, O2 said.
Upgrade your smartphone or become a new O2 customer on 24 June or after, and O2 will give you 'unlimited' data "as a promotion until 1 October".
After that, the limits will apply. Extra data can be bought as Bolt Ons: 500MB for £5 and 1GB for £10.
O2 said the move was prompted by customer demands for "clarity in pricing", but it seems really about managing demand.
“By doing this, we are laying the foundation for a sustainable data experience for all customers and the huge possibilities that technology will create over the coming years," said O2 CEO Ronan Dunne.
The implication: give punters all the data they can eat, and they'll gobble it up, to the detriment of all. ®