News
O2 to join flat rate club
Stuart O'Brien Sep 17 2007, 11:15am
UK operator prepares 'all-you-can-eat' data offering, possible iPhone tie-in.
O2 will join the rest of the UK's operators and offer an 'unlimited' data plan in the coming weeks, ME understands.
The company is also planning to offer the so-called 'wholesale data' model to D2C content providers in the same way Voda and 3 do already, though O2 considers such a measure to be an interim step as it moves customers to inclusive deals.
An O2 insider said: "O2 will offer wholesale data, but we think most of the problems associated with the cost of downloading rich media through direct-to-consumer channels will disappear once all-you-can-eat data plans are widespread - you can expect us to make an announcement in the coming weeks."
Tomorrow O2 is expected to be confirmed as Apple's official iPhone partner in the UK (along with T-Mobile in Germany and Orange in France).
It's therefore conceivable that its new unlimited data plan will be in place by the time iPhone starts appearing in its stores.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports this morning that O2 will give Apple a hefty 40 per cent of any revenues (voice and data) generated by iPhone users on its network.
