O2 Broadband or Be Broadband – Which is better?

By Julia Kukiewicz Staff Writer Tuesday, 15 January 2008

Be Broadband versus O2 Broadband Read our reviews of the O2 Broadband packages: O2 Broadband Standard O2 Broadband Premium O2 Broadband Ultimate Compare all three O2 Broadband packages: Compare Broadband: O2 Broadband Read our reviews of the Be Broadband packages: Be Value Be Pro Be Unlimited Compare all three Be Broadband packages: Compare Broadband: Be Other O2 Broadband and Be Broadband news See our other recent news about O2 Broadband and Be: O2 Price drop for non-O2 customers AS part of its continued drive for new customers, O2 Broadband has slashed the price of all its broadband packages by £5 per month for non-O2 mobile customers signing up before 30th April 2008. O2 mobile customers rewarded with incredible O2 broadband deal WHILE not strictly for O2 customers only, O2’s broadband packages are clearly designed with one thing in mind: to give O2 mobile customers such a good broadband deal that they wouldn’t dream of shifting their allegiance to another mobile provider. Is O2 Broadband any good? O2 Broadband: Is it any good? We dig the dirt on the new O2 broadband service and discover what O2 customers are saying about their super-fast new service. Be dramatically cuts 24Mbps broadband prices Be Broadband has dramatically slashed the prices of their two uber-fast 24Mbps broadband packages, making high-speed broadband more affordable than ever.

BE and O2 Broadband are offering the best new broadband packages around. But with just a gnat’s hairs width between them how do you know who will give you the best deal?

There’s only one way to find out – a fight to the death.

But we couldn’t do that so we compared them instead!

Round One: Cost

Be broadband is more expensive than O2 broadband, but only just. Both broadband providers are offering great value for money and both come with excellent reputations for reliability and customer service.

After all, Be Broadband is owned by O2.

If you’re already an O2 mobile pay-monthly customer, however, you’ll be quids in with an O2 broadband package - they work out about five pounds cheaper a month, making O2 Broadband’s cheapest package a complete steal at just £7.50 a month.

O2 Broadband also offer free installation, so you save the £24 that Be Broadband charges.

Winner: O2 Broadband

Round Two: Speed

Be Broadband currently has the UK’s fastest advertised broadband: a stomach-churning 24 Mbps with a gob-smacking 2.5 MB upload speed on its Be Pro package making them a favourite with online gamers. They also offer the same speed without the super-fast uploads for less.

In reality, of course, the majority won’t be lucky to be able to reach much above 20Mbps.

While Be Broadband and O2 Broadband actually operate off the same network, O2 Broadband’s advertised top speed of 20 Mbps is a more realistic bet if you’ve got a need for speed.

Additionally, if you don’t actually reach that speed O2 will recommend that you downgrade to their middle-weight 16 Mbs and value 8 Mbs packages. Can’t say fairer.

Winner: Be, but only just.

Round Three: Customer Service

Both Be and O2 Broadband have great reputations for customer service and reliability and Be in particular seems to have a customer base that doubles as a fan club.

Both broadband providers have excellent 24/7 UK-based customer support.

While O2 offers slightly more in terms of customer service than Be, it is still too early to say whether they’ve done enough yet to beat Be’s exemplary record.

Winner: Tie

Round Four: Extras

O2 Broadband has just stopped its amazing 100-day moneyback guarantee offer, but has replaced it with a free activation fee instead. O2 Broadband also give away free McAfee internet security for a year, offer 100 free web texts a month and offer to back up your phone contacts online.

You can get email addresses, security and webspace with Be, but it’ll be another £2 a month.

On the other hand, Be broadband offers upload speeds on its Be Pro package of up to 2.5Mb, making it fantabulous for online gaming or sending large documents. However, this is an opt-in speed, and plumping for it will mean sacrificing between 1Mb - 3Mb of your download speed to technically cater for the higher upload speeds.

Winner: O2 Broadband

Round Five: Contracts & Cancellation Fees

Despite sprouting from the same womb, Be and O2 Broadband view differently the compulsory contract periods they'll tie you into.

While each has its merits, it's difficult to decide who is best and who is worst!

While O2 Broadband demands that you stay with them for a full year before you can leave, Be Broadband only asks you to give them 3 months' notice within the first year (and a month thereafter), except for the Be Value package which ties you in for a year.

If you leave O2 inside that contract period, you will be asked to stump up £50 (but you can keep the modem!). If you need an immediate cancellation after the first year, you can either wait 30 days and pay no fee, or fork out £15 for an express cancellation.

Be Broadband, on the other hand, will charge you £40 if you don't fancy waiting three months and want an immediate cancellation (and you must return your modem) or, if you are on the Be Value package, you will need to pay the remainder of 12 months' service.

If you need an immediate cancellation of any contract outside of the first year of service with Be Broadband, you can pay a £30 fee instead of waiting out the 30 days notice period.

So, in summary:

Winner: Tie

Final bell

It’s a closely fought match and with each provider countering the other’s knockout blows with their own powerful uppercuts. So it’s down to points and the judges are unanimous…

The Final Winner Is…O2 Broadband

It’s the broadband provider that floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee (especially if you’re already an O2 customer.)

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