O2 drops iPhone fair usage limits

The iPhone goes on sale this Friday and changes to network operator O2's 'fair usage' policy will mean that buyers will be able to enjoy truly unlimited surfing. The device will connect to the internet using Wi-Fi networks or a mobile technology known as EDGE, which currently covers about 30 per cent of the UK. O2, the exclusive network carrier for the iPhone in the UK, initially planned to offer 'unlimited' downloads for iPhone customers subject to a fair usage policy. When the launch of the iPhone was announced, O2 chief executive Matthew Key said that to exceed the fair usage restrictions you would have to view something like 1,400 web pages every day. However, one of the key features of the iPhone is the ability to download music directly to the device using the Wi-Fi iTunes store, which would involve much larger amounts of data. Sally Cowdry, marketing director at O2 said: "A fair use policy was set in place at an amount that's miles beyond expected average use. This policy was intended to prevent commercial exploitation or using the iPhone as a modem, both of which would put everyone else's experience at risk. "We now appreciate that having set limits as part of the fair use policy conflicted with our objective of encouraging internet usage on the iPhone. People don't speak in megabytes and customer feedback has been that if we say unlimited, it should be unlimited," Cowdry continued. Read Web User's definitive guide to the iPhone. www.apple.com/iphone www.o2.co.uk

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