O2 Launches Unlimited Mobile Data Plans

O2 has joined its competitors Three, EE, and Vodafone in inaugurating its 5G network with unlimited data plans - also available for customers in the slow lane with 4G.

O2’s unlimited mobile plans, available with handsets and as SIM-only deals, start at £33 a month, on 18-month contracts.

Currently, unlimited data is available on O2 4G tariffs. But expect that to be extended to 5G when O2’s fifth-generation mobile network goes livein Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Slough next month.

Nina Bibby, O2’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We’re excited to be unveiling our Unlimited Data plans today. Now there’s no limit to what you can do on O2. As the customer champion, O2’s mobile plans have always been designed to put customers in control, and with the option of unlimited data on our award winning network, we are now providing our customers with the ultimate choice.”

Unlimited data plans will spare Britons from one of their greatest daily gripes, O2 said. The operator quizzed 2,000 respondents about their "biggest bugbears” and found that exceeding mobile data allowances ranked ninth, behind poor Wi-Fi connection and calls from unknown numbers.

More than a third of the British public are regularly running out of data, doing so on average once every four months, the survey found.

Three has long offered “all you can eat” data packages, but the launch of 5G networks in the UK has prompted all mobile operators to follow suit. However, for some providers, terms and conditions apply.

O2 warns that “fair use policy” applies to its unlimited packages. The firm suggests that if customers regularly use more than 650 GB of data a month or tether 12 or more devices, they will be moved to “a more suitable plan”. This is likely to be a more expensive business tariff.

EE and Three have a “soft cap” of 1000 GB a month per account on their unlimited plans. Exceeding that limit may earn you a phone call from your network, but you likely won’t be disconnected or slowed down.

Vodafone caps speeds on all its unlimited plans except its most expensive, with its £23 Unlimited Light deal restricted to 3G-worthy speeds of 2Mbps.

And all operators cap EU roaming. Subscribers to O2’s unlimited plans will be capped at 20GB a month in Europe and face charges of 0.4p per MB for use beyond that.