Mobile phone operator O2 has been one of the least competitive when it comes to mobile data (Internet access) pricing. However, the operator is now fighting back with the launch of its new "unlimited" data tariffs.

From 1st October 2007 O2 will launch three new data Bolt Ons for Pay Monthly and Pay & Go customers:


Putting aside the abuse of "unlimited" terminology for a moment and O2's Max package, offering 3 GigaByte's (GB) for £30 per month, isn't too shabby. It may not be enough to best Three's 7GB for £25 price point but they do keep up with rivals Vodafone and T-Mobile.

However O2 UK is still lagging behind with their 'Mobile Broadband (3G)' technology, which has yet to properly adopt the faster HSUPA or HSDPA variants. Due to this the best speed customers can expect is 384Kbps downstream (UTMS) as opposed to the Megabits offered by rivals.

To cap this off, most of the options can not be used by themselves (standalone), unless you’re a business customer. But even then the MAX package appears to require the use of a Wi-Fi session via O2’s Connection Manager software, though we’re not quite sure what that actually means (O2’s website isn’t the best for readability).