After the acquisition of the Internet Service Provider Be Unlimited, at a cost of fifty million pounds, it was only a matter of time before communications giant O2 launched its own broadband service. This has now been scheduled for launch in mid-October, and is expected to be accessible by around fifty percent of consumers, many of which will be in urban areas. Be Unlimited will continue to operate as an independent ISP according to reports.

Over recent weeks information about the O2 packages that will be on offer have been leaked over the Internet. The company has now released information online with regards to the different packages that will be available to consumers, and is expecting a high demand for its service, focusing on signing up one million customers by 2010, which many think is a very ambitious target for the new provider. O2 officials state that, although the service is capable of offering 24MB, the maximum at present will be 20MB, as officials are expecting demand to be high, and feel that higher speeds would mean compromising on service and quality for customers.

The packages and deals announced by O2 so far are: up to 20MB at £15 per month; up to 16MB at £10 per month; and up to 8MB at £7.50 per month. Those on unbundled packages and those on pay as you go will be charged a fee of £10 per month, and another provider will also be needed as this does not include any line rental or voice calls. A free 24 hour technical support service will also be available to customers in the UK.

There is a fair use policy in place with these O2 packages, even though – as with many other Internet Service Providers – these are described as unlimited. Consumers should find out more about the fair use policies if planning to sign up with O2 for their broadband.