O2 offers free broadband to keep iPhone power base

The Gadget Show  Tuesday 10 November 2009

iPhone wars – let the battle of the networks commence!

With the iPhone going live on rival network Orange today, O2 is offering customers free home broadband to stop them from signing up.

O2’s two-year iPhone exclusivity ended today, and with Orange’s contract deals looking highly competitive, O2 has upped the ante by tacking on free broadband to its £9.79-a-month data tethering deal.

The offer, which runs until 31 December, will see customers get O2’s standard 8Mbps internet package – normally £7.34 per month – completely free, or receive a discount of the same value should they want a faster service.

Orange’s iPhone contract packages are otherwise remarkably similar to O2’s – in some cases virtually identical: its 24-month deal with 1200 minutes and 500 texts differs by just 1p per month from the same deal on O2. But there is one key difference between the rival networks’ deals: While O2’s mobile internet is uncapped, Orange has imposed a somewhat stingy 750MB data limit on its users.