Broadband News & Mobile Broadband News

A new survey from home & mobile broadband provider O2 has revealed that the British public would rather cut back on their food bills than reduce the amount they pay for their broadband access.

The O2 Digital Families survey found that out of the 500 families who were questioned, 67% could not contemplate spending less on their broadband bills during the recession, compared to 24% who wouldn’t cut their food shop.

Another surprising statistic revealed that 66% said that they wouldn’t mind splashing out on new gadgets if they were at a reasonable price.

When commenting on the results, Alistair Johnston, an O2 representative said, “This report reveals just how pervasive technology now is within UK homes. We strongly believe that technology has a hugely positive role to play in helping families better manage their hectic lives, but also ultimately in being able to spend more time together.”

Overall O2’s Digital Families report shows just how important technology is in our lives today. The credit crunch may be taking its toll on our finances, but as long as we have technology, such as games consoles and broadband, it somehow helps to lessen the effects of the recession.

O2 has today launched 3 months free O2 Broadband at O2.co.uk.

The free broadband for 3 months offer applies to the O2 Broadband Premium and O2 Broadband Pro packages that are ordered online by the 31st May 2009.



O2 Broadband Premium has download speeds up to 20Mb, an unlimited monthly usage allowance, upload speeds up to 1.3Mb and McAfee Internet security for 3 computers. There’s also access to dedicated 24/7 UK based customer service support.

The package usually costs £9.79 a month for O2 mobile customers or £14.68 per month for non O2 customers – which means the free offer provides a saving of up to £44.

O2 Broadband Pro also has 20Mb download speeds and an unlimited usage allowance. The upload speeds are higher though, at up to 2.5Mb, while 5 computers can have McAfee Internet security. Customers signing up to this package will also exclusively benefit from priority 24/7 UK based customer service support.

The normal monthly cost for O2 Broadband Pro is £17.13 for O2 mobile customers and £22.02 for everyone else. Therefore, a saving of up to £66 can be achieved via the 3 months free.

This online offer expires on the 31st May 2009 so please go to O2.co.uk/FreeO2Broadband for more information. Alternatively, you can read our full review of O2 Broadband here.

You can now get O2 Home Broadband free for 12 months when you order O2 Mobile Broadband online for £20 a month. This is an exclusive online offer only and one we recommend you do not miss.

O2 Mobile Broadband provides speeds on your laptop up to 1.8Mb, has a 3Gb monthly download usage allowance and comes with a free O2 USB modem dongle that you plug into your laptop to connect to the O2 3G mobile broadband network.



There’s two O2 mobile broadband packages to choose from, one with an 18 month contract and one with a flexible one month contract where you pay a one-off £99.99 for the O2 USB dongle.

The free O2 Home Broadband Standard package (usual cost £7.50 a month) offers download speeds up to 8Mb and has an unlimited monthly download usage allowance.

You’ll get a FREE O2 wireless box for wireless broadband access in and around your home, plus have round the clock access to O2’s UK based customer and technical support if you need it.

Don’t miss this market leading mobile broadband offer. Find out more in our O2 Mobile Broadband review.

With speeds up to 1.8Mb, O2 Mobile Broadband (for laptops) has now launched with prices starting from £20 a month with a free O2 USB modem dongle included.

There’s a 3Gb monthly data download allowance with users not being charged for going over this until the 31st October 2008 – thanks to a special promotion being run by O2.



The free USB modem dongle is available when you sign up to an 18 month contract, otherwise its a one off £119.99 if you take the rolling 1 month contract instead (known as O2 pay as you go mobile broadband / no contract mobile broadband)

You’ll also get unlimited access to 7,500 Wi-Fi hotspot locations in the UK through O2’s tie up with wi-fi specialists, The Cloud.

O2 mobile broadband is available to O2 customers only. More information can be found in our new O2 Mobile Broadband review.

If you order any O2 Broadband package online before the 30th June 2008, O2 will waive your broadband connection charge (usually £50) and give you a 50 day money back guarantee.



O2 Broadband prices for O2 mobile phone customers start from just £7.50 a month for up to 8Mb broadband download speeds. Non O2 mobile phone customers simply pay an extra £5 a month – which is still good value.

You’ll receive a free O2 wireless box for wireless broadband in and around your home, free UK based customer and technical phone support around the clock and free McAfee PC security which includes antivirus and spyware protection, firewall and spam filters.

You can find out further information on the range of O2 broadband packages available together with O2’s latest broadband deals in our O2 Broadband review here.