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O2's 4G Tariffs Unravelled

15th August 2013
O2 4G

O2 has revealed the full details of its coming 4G network tariffs. Available from 29 August it has announced SIM-only deals will start from £26 per month with a 1GB data allowance, while phone deals will start at £32 per month again with 1GB of data.

As with other networks it seems to help sweeten the deal O2 will be offering unlimited minutes and texts, knowing full well that it's the data package that's now the limiting factor for any tariff and is what people will pay for.

As for the packages themselves, SIM-only deals start at £26 per month with a reasonable 1GB of data, moving up to £36 per month for 5GB. It's possible to add O2 bolt-ons, which come in at £6 for 500MB or £10 for an extra 1GB. Alongside this all 4G users will gain free access to the 9,000 O2 WiFi hotspots that are dotted around the country, plus the usual O2 Priority Moment deals and a range of exclusive content.

Existing O2 customers can opt for O2 Refresh start, which enables them to switch to a new 4G-capable device and tariff. Starting at £22 a month with 1GB, moving up to £37 for 8GB. O2 then offers 10 4G-ready devices with additional monthly costs of between £10 and £25 including the HTC One, BlackBerry Q10 and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Trying to attract early-adopters O2 is offering boosted data allowances for anyone that signs up before the 31 October. This boosts 4G SIM-only and Airtime plans to 5GB from £27 per month (usually 3GB) and 8GB from £32 per month (usually 5GB).  All of these are covered by the O2 Happiness Guarantee, that gives you 90-days in which if you're not totally happy, O2 will help transfer you to a 3G tariff and give you a bill credit up to £15.

Gaming 4G plans

O2 seem to think just offering 4G isn't enough, so it's throwing in a bundle of exclusive content including music, sports and games, which may or may not mean anything to you.

If you enjoy a bit of mobile gaming then O2 is pushing the online multiplayer capabilities of 4G, something many networks aren't doing. In a deal with Gameloft – one of the better known mobile game developers – O2 customers will gain access to its best known titles including Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour and Zombiewood over 4G. The best bit is that doing so won't eat into your data allowance, unlike those zombies and your tasty, tasty brain.

For music fans there's O2 4G Tracks, a service that for 12 months will provide free access to the UK Top 40 Singles Chart, extra playlists and videos. The Priority Sports service will deliver video interviews and behind-the-scene peeks from O2's England Rugby sponsorship, Twickenham Stadium and NBA Live at The O2.

So finally we have all the big players from EE, O2 and Vodafone offering 4G tariffs from £21 all the way up to £61. So who are you going to choose for your 4G access?

 

Neil Mohr is no longer writing for 4G.co.uk and is now the editor of the UK's best-selling Linux magazine and also the biggest grossing US computing print title in Linux Format. Over my first two years of editing the title I reversed a declining readership, defended the title's market share against new launches and maintained sales during a declining market.

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