Speed
A little slower than average with average download speed of 1.3Mbs O2 a touch off the average mobile broadband speed of 1.5Mbs. These speeds are fine for general web use and emails but a little slow for downloading or watching video clips of movies.
Reliability and coverage
Whilst speeds may bee a little slow coverage is decent and like all the networks is improving all the time as upgrades to the network are carried out. We here less complaints about O2’s coverage than with many of the other networks.
Customer Service
O2’s UK based call centre is a positive for many people who are become increasingly frustrated with providers basing their call centres aboard to save money to the detriment of customer service. Whilst they don’t offer the same uncapped fair use policies as Vodafone and Three which avoid nasty bills for exceeding your data allowance O2 still scores strongly here due to good customer service. O2 also offer a 30 day ‘happiness’ money back guarantee.
Choice of plans and value
A reasonable choice of plans and free laptop deals with pricing competitive but not the cheapest there should be a plan to suit most budgets and types of user.
Overall verdict
A 30 day money back guarantee and award winning UK based customer support make O2 a decent option. Speeds could be better but should continue to improve whilst coverage is reasonably good. Value for money is OK and there’s the added benefit of priority tickets for O2 events (such as music concerts).
