Neowin News Feed for: O2

UK government issues guidance on upcoming 2G network switch-off

Paul Hill — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:24:01 +0000

While 3G is already a thing of the past for most, the UK is now setting its sights on the final retirement of 2G connectivity. Read more...

Virgin Media O2 customers: Will you pay 8.8% more or face the exit fees?

Paul Hill — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 22:24:01 +0000

VIrgin Media O2 is giving its customers a difficult choice to make. Should they pay the new rates which are 8.8% higher or pay exorbitant exit fees to change over to a new provider? Read more...

UK networks are shutting down 3G starting with Vodafone

Paul Hill — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 05:46:01 +0000

All of the UK's mobile network providers will close down their 3G services in 2024 and 2025. Vodafone is being most aggressive as it will conduct the final shutdown phase this month and next. Read more...

Virgin Media O2 has upgraded its mobile network in staycation hotspots

Paul Hill — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 21:50:02 +0000

Virgin Media O2 has announced upgrades to its network in several staycation locations around the UK including Kent, Cornwall, East Sussex, Yorkshire, the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides. Read more...

Poor UK households could save £200 on broadband but are unaware of social tariff deals

Paul Hill — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 02:20:01 +0000

Just 5% of eligible households in the UK are subscribed to a social broadband tariff. They are priced more reasonably for people on welfare who have tighter budgets but still need internet access. Read more...

London Underground will get Vodafone and O2's 4G and 5G connectivity soon

Karthik Mudaliar — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 07:36:01 +0000

Vodafone and O2 are the last carriers that are joining BAI to deploy high-speed mobile and internet connectivity across the London Underground stations and tunnel starting December 2022. Read more...

O2 and Virgin Mobile will not be reintroducing Europe roaming charges

Paul Hill — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 13:42:01 +0000

Virgin Media O2 has revealed it will not be bringing back European roaming charges for customers on either the O2 or Virgin Mobile networks. It has no plans to reintroduce charges but could in future. Read more...

Vodafone and EE delay the reintroduction of EU roaming charges

Paul Hill — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 21:08:02 +0000

Vodafone and EE have announced delays to their EU roaming fees. Vodafone will introduce the charge at the end of January while EE will now charge it from March. Three has plans to introduce it in May. Read more...

Virgin Media O2's entire broadband network now supports gigabit speeds

Paul Hill — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 12:14:01 +0000

Virgin Media O2 is now supporting gigabit broadband across its whole network which means it has achieved a government goal four years early after just two years of work. It has more upgrades coming. Read more...

Virgin Media O2 says gigabit is available across half its network

Paul Hill — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 12:44:02 +0000

Virgin Media O2 has announced that half of its broadband network is now able to access gigabit connectivity. By the end of the year it wants to make gigabit available on all of its network. Read more...

O2 paid out £250 million to customers since 2009 in recycling drive

Paul Hill — Fri, 21 May 2021 23:12:01 +0000

O2 has announced that its O2 Recycle scheme has given out £250 million since starting in 2009. The scheme is helping to keep tonnes of electronic waste out of the UK's landfill sites. Read more...

O2 and Virgin Media joint venture approved by UK regulator

Paul Hill — Thu, 20 May 2021 16:32:01 +0000

The UK's Competition & Markets Authority has given the go-ahead to O2 and Virgin Media to pursue a 50:50 joint venture. The deal is expected to close on June 1 and begin operations. Read more...

O2 partners with Microsoft to trial Mobile Edge Computing

Paul Hill — Wed, 19 May 2021 17:08:02 +0000

O2 and Microsoft have signed a new agreement which will see them trial Mobile Edge Computing in a Private 5G Network. It's unknown when O2's customers will be able to benefit from these technologies. Read more...

O2 rolling out smart cooling technology to reduce carbon emissions

Paul Hill — Tue, 18 May 2021 19:14:02 +0000

O2 has been rolling out new cooling technology from EkkoSense across its network. This will reduce its carbon emissions by one million kilograms each year, helping it become net-zero by 2025. Read more...

O2 and Vodafone to optimise their 5G spectrum in deal

Paul Hill — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:54:02 +0000

O2 and Vodafone have agreed on a deal that will see them trade 5G spectrum. They hope that it will pave the way for a faster 5G rollout and improve performance for users in all areas. Read more...

O2 launches initiative to cut e-waste in Glasgow, Scotland

Paul Hill — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 18:16:01 +0000

O2 has called on members of the public to donate their unused mobile phones to its Community Calling initiative. It's expanding the scheme to Glasgow to reduce digital exclusion in the city. Read more...

O2 anticipates high street revitalisation with £4.4m investment

Paul Hill — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 16:12:01 +0000

O2 has announced a £4.4 million investment into its high street stores. It said people's appetite for going to the shops was increasing more than one year after the national lockdown began. Read more...

O2 reveals rise of young ‘mobilepreneurs' due to lockdown

Paul Hill — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 17:16:01 +0000

New research from O2 has shown that many young people aged 18 to 24 are becoming 'mobilepreneurs'. It defined these as people who have started using an app to sell items online to make money. Read more...

UK consortium to boost health care with medical drones

Paul Hill — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 19:42:01 +0000

A new UK-based consortium led by Skyfarer is setting out to create national infrastructure by 2022 that will enable the delivery of medical supplies such as blood for blood transfusions by drone. Read more...

O2 hit with £10.5 million fine for overcharging customers

Paul Hill — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:20:01 +0000

Ofcom has fined O2 £10.5 million for overcharging customers between 2011 and 2019. The carrier has also refunded those who were affected and is donating to charity where it can't find the customer. Read more...

UK mobile carriers agree on Shared Rural Network deal

Paul Hill — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 13:00:01 +0000

O2, Three, and Vodafone have come to an agreement regarding the Shared Rural Network. The firms will build 222 mobile masts in under-served areas, which will be shared by all three. Read more...

RootMetrics says EE is the mobile carrier to beat in the UK

Paul Hill — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 15:02:01 +0000

EE has come out as the best mobile carrier around the UK in RootMetrics' latest report. The authors did over half a million tests around the country to find out which carriers were most reliable. Read more...

UK mobile networks won't re-introduce EU roaming charges

Paul Hill — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 14:30:01 +0000

The four big mobile carriers in the UK have revealed that they do not plan to bring back roaming fees when the country begins its new relationship with the EU in just a matter of days. Read more...

O2 and Hubbub partner to help connect the vulnerable

Paul Hill — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 02:46:01 +0000

O2 and Hubbub have announced that they plan to donate 10,000 smartphones to the most vulnerable people around the country. Recipients will also receive unlimited calls, texts, and 6GB of data. Read more...

O2's 5G network now available in over 100 towns and cities

Paul Hill — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 10:34:01 +0000

O2 has announced a further expansion of its 5G network bringing the total number of 5G-enabled towns and cities to 108. Customers can check the coverage checker to see if their town or city has 5G. Read more...

U.K.: 20% of businesses used mobile data to stay afloat in 2020

Paul Hill — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 15:56:01 +0000

O2's latest research has found that without mobile connectivity, the U.K. economy would have lost a further £205 billion in economic output because more businesses would have collapsed. Read more...

O2: COVID-19 has sped up online shopping adoption

Paul Hill — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 12:20:01 +0000

O2 Business and Retail Economics have published their Big Ask report which found COVID-19 has pushed more to shop online. They concluded that businesses show look to bolster their online presence. Read more...

UK telecoms remove data charges for victim support websites

Paul Hill — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 16:28:01 +0000

The UK government has come to an arrangement with several mobile operators, including EE and O2, that will allow customers to access nine victim support websites without using up their mobile data. Read more...

UK: Virgin Media and O2 agree merger to tackle BT

Paul Hill — Thu, 07 May 2020 10:06:01 +0000

O2 and Virgin Media have agreed to a merger which could conclude by mid-2021 as long as regulators approve the move. The two firms are positioning themselves to take on BT which owns EE. Read more...

O2: Brits expect to work from home more often after lockdown

Paul Hill — Wed, 06 May 2020 14:38:01 +0000

O2 has released a new study that finds people's opinions on working from home. Most respondents expect home working to increase after the lockdown ends but it also revealed some miss socialising. Read more...

COVID-19: O2 lifts voice call limit for pay monthly customers

Paul Hill — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:12:02 +0000

O2 has removed the voice limit cap for customers paying on a monthly basis. This respite does not apply to Enterprise and SMB customers. Those on pay-as-you-go will still be charged the usual rates. Read more...

UK: Firms and government announce Shared Rural Network

Paul Hill — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 11:40:01 +0000

The UK government and several mobile operators have announced the Shared Rural Network which aims to provide 4G mobile coverage in rural areas around the country. It will cost £1 billion. Read more...

O2: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip now available with custom plans

Paul Hill — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:42:01 +0000

O2 has announced that orders for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip can be placed. Monthly contracts can be customised based on length, data, and how much you want to pay for the phone upfront. Read more...

uSwitch awards O2 with ‘Best Network Coverage' award for the third year running

Paul Hill — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 14:18:01 +0000

The comparison website, uSwitch, has rated O2 as offering the best network coverage when compared to other major operators in the UK. This is the third award that the company has received this year. Read more...

The UK has decided to allow Huawei hardware in non-critical areas of 5G networks

Paul Hill — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 13:36:01 +0000

The UK government has finally come to the decision that it will allow Huawei hardware to be used in 5G networks but with several restrictions. Only 35% of a network will be able to use Huawei tech. Read more...

UK may decide tomorrow whether or not it will allow Huawei into its 5G networks

Paul Hill — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 20:38:01 +0000

The UK government is expected to come to a decision tomorrow over whether or not it should allow Huawei hardware in the 5G networks, following pressure from the U.S. to exclude the Chinese firm. Read more...

O2 signs agreement with Transport for London to deliver 4G to Jubliee Line

Paul Hill — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 19:32:01 +0000

O2 has announced that it will be bringing 4G connectivity to a portion of the Jubilee Line on the London Underground. It's just part of a wider effort by TfL to bring connectivity to the underground. Read more...

O2 becomes the first UK network to offer native Visual Voicemail on Android

Paul Hill — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 14:12:01 +0000

O2 has enabled Visual Voicemail on the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The carrier will bring it to other devices in the new year. It's the only UK carrier with the feature currently switched on. Read more...

O2 introduces new unlimited data consumer plans starting from £33 per month

Paul Hill — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 13:40:01 +0000

O2 has announced that it is now offering 'Limitless' data from £33 per month. You can get unlimited data via a sim-only contract or as part of your mobile contract bundle on newly released devices. Read more...

UK: Research shows kids as young as eight have handed out personal details online

Paul Hill — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 13:38:01 +0000

O2 and the NSPCC have published new information from a study on 2,000 children in the UK and their online habits. They hope to help parents with online matters with the re-launched Net Aware site. Read more...