O2 unlimited data? Oh dear..
Link: Consumer Data Bolt On - Tariffs - Mobiles & Tariffs - O2
SMS Text News reader Barry got in touch just now to highlight O2’s rather stupid ‘unlimited’ data offering. They’re trying to hard to match similar options from T-Mobile and Three, but manage to completely screw it up by throwing in loads of conditions and exclusions.
Here’s what they have to say:
O2 Web Bolt On gives you unlimited* browsing through your phone for £7.50 per month
So far so good. What do you reckon their definition of ‘unlimited’ is? 1Gb? 2Gb? Maybe even three? Nope - not a hope in hell. Buried in small print on the page, they say:
A fair use of 200MB per month applies to the O2 Web Bolt On. A fair use of 3GB per month applies to O2 Web Max.
Eh? Let’s compare this with T-Mobile. Web’n'Walk on your phone is £7.50 a month, and gives you 1Gb of data. You can even do pay-as-you-go Web’n'Walk for a quid a day.
However, there is one ray of sunshine in this whole mess. They give you a free trial of data services to all customers before you decide to commit. How much do you reckon you’ll get for free? If you’ve got a tariff with less than 600 minutes, it’s a very generous 100KB. Wow, what a lot. It gets even better if you’ve got over 600 minutes a month on your tariff - you get a whole 512KB to play with.
The bottom line? Utter crap. Sorry and all that, but it is. If these are the basis for the T&Cs for EDGE data on the iPhone, then I’m wondering whether Apple realise they’ve really shot themselves in the foot.
Update: SMS Text News reader Paul got in touch, pointing out that the T&Cs for the Web Bolt On are even more strict than first thought. Witness these points, from the O2 terms and conditions page
The O2 Web Bolt On can only be added to a consumer voice tariff and allows you unlimited use of O2’s 3G/GPRS Mobile Data Services for Permitted Uses only.
Permitted Uses of theO2 Web Bolt On are uses of your SIM Card within a handheld mobile device for the purposes of Internet Browsing and email (excluding BlackBerry® email) only.
Any other use of the O2 Web Bolt On will not be a Permitted Use, including but not limited to:
1.     Use with Data Cards or Modems;
2.     Instant Messaging,
3.     IP Telephony,
4.     Point 2 Point file sharing and file transfer,
5.     VoIP (e.g. Skype™),
6.     Video and TV streaming,
7.     Slingboxes; and
8.     Use in conjunction with routers.O2 reserves the right to suggest an upgrade to O2 Web Max or to withdraw the O2 Web Bolt On from you at any time if O2 reasonably suspects you of using the service for uses other than the Permitted Uses or abuse of the service, including using an atypical volume of data as compared to normal users of the O2 Web Bolt On, which will normally be less than 200MB of usage within a one month bill cycle (termed “fair usageâ€).
O2 will contact you before the O2 Web Bolt On is withdrawn or upgraded. If for any reason contact is not possible then O2 may temporarily bar the service until contact can be made. In the event that O2 withdraws the O2 Web Bolt On, O2 is not obliged to offer any alternative replacement service. If O2 determines that you may upgrade to an alternative service which is more appropriate for your requirements then, if you consent, O2 will transfer you to the alternative service as soon as is reasonably practicable after you advise O2 that this is what you wish to do.
So basically you can’t use it for IM, VoIP, streaming, file transfer, or anything really useful. Do O2 realise the internet has changed a lot since the early 90’s?
In the video of the London announcement, the O2 CEO is quite clear that for iPhone tariffs it’s 1400 web pages *a day*. Given this is the number they publicise as equating to the 200MB ‘fair use’ limit in their ‘unlimited’ bolt-ons either iPhone owners will get a much better deal (by a long shot) or we’re in for an embarrassing climb down… My money’s on the latter.
Video: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/video/0,139101587,49292859,00.htm
Posted by Ben Smith on September 28th, 2007 at 12:09 pm.How much is O2 webMax?
How on earth can they get away with the term ‘Unlimited’, fare use is 200meg so you’re essentially paying the same as the rest of the industry for 20% of the product.
I think O2 are trying to pull a fast one by confusing the consumer with similar sounding deals and prices but giving a lot less for the same money.
Its not just utter crap its nothing short of a con.
Posted by Mark on September 28th, 2007 at 12:10 pm.@ Mark: £30.
Posted by Ben Smith on September 28th, 2007 at 12:50 pm.When I saw the headline for this I thought: “Ah, finally they get it.” On reading the package I actually found myself laughing out loud. I mean, I know Three’s ‘unlimited’ X-Series is actually capped at 1gig, but when they launched that, compared anything anyone had done before, it was as good as unlimited. But things have moved on, the bar has been raised and if it wasn’t so sad for the O2 customers who fall for such a shoddy marketing ploy, it would be hilarious.
Posted by MarkW on September 28th, 2007 at 3:01 pm.1400 average web pages a day is (very very roughly) 5gb a month… so it COULD be a very very good fair use limit…. I remain skeptical!
Posted by Dan Lane on September 28th, 2007 at 3:50 pm.So what happens when you download a new application? Is that deemed file transfer? Or an mp3 which you have just paid for?
How are they going to police file transfer?
No VOIP, is that not a restrictive trade violation, effectively putting the mobile voip companies out of business?
Data is data for Gods sake….
Posted by Mark on September 28th, 2007 at 5:01 pm.I was offered an N95 package on O2 the other day for just £25/month on a special students’ deal.
When I insisted that I’d only be interested if they bundled in unlimited data, the guy said I’d soon be able to get 3GB for £30/month, hinting that I’d have to wait until the iPhone was actually released.
“£30,” I exclaimed. “That’s almost competitive with Three.”
He blushed.
And spluttered.
“Erm, no. That’s £30 per month ON TOP OF the £25 for the special phone package.”
I laughed so hard that I had to change my underpants.
Posted by HeavyLight on September 29th, 2007 at 1:48 pm.Could be worse. Orange’s “unlimited” data bolt-on, for £8 a month has a fair usage cap of 30MB!
I wouldn’t mind, but I had the old 30MB package for £8 a month, then the bloke at Orange said “we can switch you to the UNLIMITED” package for the same money! And I thought ‘wahey’… only to find that it’s exactly the same package with a different name.
They just don’t get it. Any of them.
Posted by Rob Fenwick on October 1st, 2007 at 12:26 pm.“They just don’t get it. Any of them.”
Well I reckon Three are getting very close to it.
Just in case anyone from Three is listening, it would be really nice if you offered an OMA (aka Wireless Village) server so we could IM using the phone’s native application…
Oh, and integrate a Gmail client too!
Posted by HeavyLight on October 1st, 2007 at 11:35 pm.