Telefonica-owned mobile operator O2, has unveiled its 4G tariffs, and customers hoping that a switch to 4G would be cheaper than on rival EE will be left dissatisfied.
O2 does not have a similar option to EE's cheapest price plan of £21 per month for only 500MB. Instead, it has matched EE on its £26 per month 1GB price plan, and this rises to £36 a month for 5GB of data, the same price as EE is offering its customers.
Further reading O2 COO: 'Our 4G network will be better than EE's - even though it won't work with the iPhone 5' O2 to launch 4G in UK on 29 August Airwaves cleared for 4G as Vodafone, O2 and Three play catch-up with EE
Customers that need additional data will be able to purchase add-ons at £6 for 500MB and £10 for 1GB of data.
When Computing spoke to O2's COO Derek McManus on the firm's 4G launch, he alluded to the idea of O2 trying to incentive customers to sign up to 4G on O2 rather than rivals EE and Vodafone as it could offer more of a multimedia package.
O2 has now confirmed that its customers will get access to a range of music, sport and gaming on their devices. The music services, dubbed O2 4G tracks, will be free for the first 12 months for new O2 4G customers, and features the Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart as well as a collection of other playlists and videos which it claims are "handpicked by artists".
O2 Priority Sports will allow customers to get free videos on the move from sports men and women offering training advice, fitness and nutrition tips and interviews. O2 said users will be able to view behind the scenes action from sports teams, events and venues such as Twickenham Stadium and NBA Live at the O2.
Customers will also be able to play games such as Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour and Zombiewood over 4G for free, without using their data allowance.
Existing O2 customers with a 4G ready device can transfer to a 4G tariff without needing to sign a new agreement. While those who have an iPhone 5 which is not 4G ready on O2's network, will be able to get 4G with O2 offering to pay 25 per cent towards customers' remaining contracts.
O2's latest type of contract, called O2 Refresh, allows customers to get the latest device whenever they want. The airtime plans for O2 Refresh start from £22 a month for 1GB of data and goes up to £37 for 8GB, but if customers want a 4G device to go along with this, they will need to pay between £10 and £25 extra per month (depending on how they decide to pay for it).
O2 4G for businesses
O2's 4G SIM only packages for small businesses start at £21.67 for 1GB of data on a 12 month contract and O2's Smartphone On & On tariff starts at £26.67 for 1GB of data on a 24 month contract. O2 said that until October 31, it is "building in additional data" into some of its tariffs, offering 5GB instead of 3GB for £25.84 a month, for example.
Mobile broadband, tablets and data-only tariffs will be available from £14.17 a month, while O2's mobile wi-fi starts at the same price but will not be available until mid-September.
