O2 improves iPhone contracts

Customers on the cheapest iPhone tariff - £35 per month - will have their allocated talktime trebled from February, from 200 to 600 minutes.

O2, the exclusive network carrier for the iPhone, will also increase the number of permitted text messages per month from 200 to 500.

The move is part of a standardisation of O2's tariffs, and will see iPhone customers on more expensive deals benefit too.

"This industry is infamous for confusing consumers with the number and complexity of tariffs," said Sally Cowdry, Marketing Director, O2 UK.

If you selected the £45 per month iPhone contract, you will now get the text and talktime allowances that were initially offered with the £55 per month contract.

This means you will get 1,200 minutes talktime as opposed to 600, with 500 texts.

If you opted for the £55 per month deal, you can either choose to pay £10 less per month or upgrade to a £75 per month contract that offers 3,000 minutes and 500 texts per month.

"We've listened to what our customers want and acted, offering simple but competitive tariffs across all our handset range. The iPhone is already our fastest ever selling device and this added value will allow us to appeal to an ever greater segment of the market – it is an unbeatable proposition," said Cowdry.

Analyst Raymond Yu of Ovum said that though the changes to the tariffs were good news for existing customers, it was unlikely to spark a surge of demand for the iPhone.

"It is unlikely that the tariff change will attract too many new customers to the iPhone. Despite a better value offering, the price of the iPhone (£269) and total cost of ownership (minimum £35 per month on an 18 month contract) will still be the main barrier to uptake," he said.

www.o2.co.uk
www.apple.com/iphone