O2 Pro Broadband

• Unlimited, lightning-quick 20Mb O2 broadband
• Priority connection and support, with 2.5Mb upload speeds
• Free O2 Wireless Box III with new 'N' technology
• 500 free web texts per month
• Add O2 home phone with an Anytime or Evening & Weekend call plan
• First 3 months for free!
• Free connection
• Free UK based customer service 24/7

O2 broadband review: Pro

STOP PRESS 1! O2 Broadband is offering a 30 day moneyback guarantee on this package, so you can truly try before you buy.

STOP PRESS 2! Are an O2 mobile phone customer (pay monthly OR payg)? Then you can get this package for £5 less per month.

IN so many ways, O2 has always under-promised, then over-delivered (look, for example, at how they have turned around the Millenium Dome) and with its new top-end broadband package, O2 has done it again.

And we can't stop talking about it!

For O2 and Non-O2 customers

While this O2 broadband package is available to O2 customers and non-customers alike, the massive price difference between the two (currently £4.89 a month less for those who pay their mobile bills to O2) clearly indicates that this package is intended for one thing only: to keep O2 mobile customers loyal.

And with an objective like that, you just know you are in for a treat!

We all know that O2 bought out high-speed broadband provider Be in 2006, and we know this O2 broadband package is built around the Be network whose unique selling point was the promise of 24Mb broadband, so why is it only promising speeds of up to 20Mb? Because O2 prefer to under-promise.

Oh, were all broadband providers like this...

Shock, horror!

So while Be Broadband promises up to 24Mb but realistically only reaches 20Mb on a good day, O2 Broadband promises up to 20Mb and - shock-horror! - is much more likely to actually deliver it.

If you're an O2 mobile phone customer (that's pay monthly OR pay as you go) you'll save £5 a month of the package price, bringing O2 Pro down to just £17.50 a month. Compared to Be's Pro package at £21.97 - this is a good saving.

O2 are also currently offering the first 2 month's free - so whether you're an O2 mobile phone customer or not, you'll still save more getting this deal from O2 instead of Be.

It is worth noting that if you've not got an O2 mobile phone and you want this package - consider getting a pay as you go sim - you'll have to top up £10 every 3 months to keep the discount, but this works out at £3.33 a month. So even if you don't use any of that talktime you'll still be saving £1.67 a month.

£1.67 doesn't sound like much, but in this adds up to £20.04 over a year - and who'd pass up a month's free broadband? Also, there's nothing stopping you using the pay as you go top-ups either.

If you need a more flexible contract however, Be does come up trumps here, albeit at a price. Be Pro is available with a 3-month rolling contract for £24.52 a month with a £24 connection fee.

O2 Home Phone

O2 are now offering home phone deals bundled with their broadband.

These are very well-priced: either £9.50 for Evening & Weekend UK landline calls or £12.50 for Anytime calls to UK landlines and 20 international destinations.

Given that BT line rental sets you back £11.25 and an anytime calls deal from the same place is an extra £4.99 - that's quite a significant saving.

Free extras

O2 Broadband Pro also offers some great little extras, such as a free O2 Wireless Box III which is a wireless router with new "N" technology - simply put it offers better wireless coverage than standard 802.11g routers.

There are also 500 free PC-to-mobile text messages per month and O2 customers can back up their phone contacts.

O2 Broadband also includes free McAfee security (with 5 licenses) and, if you are an O2 mobile customer, your emails can be sent to your mobile phone like text messages. For free. Who needs a Blackberry?

Free UK support

Most pleasingly of all, O2 Broadband offer totally free, UK-based support.

While O2 Broadband remained a bit of a word-of-mouth success, a recent £6m advertising campaign is letting the world know about how good O2 Broadband is.

We like how O2 Broadband went about this - running the service for a good 8 months, ironing out problems and hurdles, before pushing the advertising. We feel some broadband providers could learn from this approach!

Value and reliability

For sheer value and reliability, we can't recommend this O2 Broadband Pro package enough.

Can I get O2 Broadband?

Note that currently the O2 broadband area now covers the entire UK, thanks to a partnership with BT.

This does however mean that while O2 Broadband is available to everyone, the 20Mb speeds will not be available to everyone.

You will be able to check this online when you sign up, or by entering your phone number and postcode on our O2 Broadband comparison page, where you can also compare O2 Broadband packages side by side.

	At a glance Our Rating: Monthly Price: from £17.50 Initial Cost: Free Line Rental: from £9.50 (with ) Contract Length: 12 months Broadband: Max Speed: Up to 20Mb Usage Limit: Unlimited Phone: Optional choice of call plans Optional O2 line rental Mobile Phone: O2 mobile phone customers save £5 a month See all options for this package

A little more detail...

Broadband		Special Note...
Package:	Pro	-
Connection:	ADSL2+	Telephone line
Max Speed:	Up to 20Mb	Up to 2.5Mb upload speeds.
Usage Limit:	Unlimited	Very relaxed fair use policy applies
Totally Unlimited:	No
Hardware:	O2 Wireless Box III	Built-in firewall. 'N' technology with improved wireless coverage.
Internet Security:	Included free for 12 months	McAfee Internet Security Suite free for the first year, with 5 licenses (can be installed on up to 5 computers).
Online Gaming:	All major consoles supported	Ideal for online gaming. You can get an optional static IP for free.

Home Phone
Summary:	Optional choice of call plans Optional O2 line rental
Choose a package option to see more details

Mobile Phone
Summary:	O2 mobile phone customers save £5 a month
Choose a package option to see more details