Founded in 1985 when it was known as Cellnet, O2 is now one of the better known Mobile Networks in the UK.
The equipment it used was initially a Motorola system designed for America and had to be adapted for the UK. It was so unready for use it became known as the “European Motorola Experiment and initially, mobile calls cost £1 per minute. Read More
When you sign a normal mobile phone contract with your preferred phone network, you are in essence buying two products tied to one. First is the mobile phone set you choose, and the second is the service which includes the bundled monthly calling allowance in minutes and/or texts that goes with it. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand SIM Only Contracts. Simply put, a SIM only contract is a phone service only contract. A contract type where the phone network does not give the customer a mobile phone set – the customer only gets the network’s SIM card and has the freedom to buy any unlocked mobile phone or simply use any already owned phone set at home.
With mobile phone contracts, you get the best deals online. It doesn’t matter if the High Street phone shop is owned and run directly by your preferred network or run by an agent under a franchise agreement, phone networks make more money from online customers. A high online customer base means less shops to rent, less equipment to install, and less staff on the payroll for the networks, so almost all the networks will incentivise customers to buy online with discounts. Discounts vary, but on average all phone networks online price plans are about 10 per cent cheaper than what the High Street outlets quote. Some networks like T-Mobile, O2, Orange and Vodafone make it conspicuous – they give you clear online exclusive offers and discounts. Other operators like 3 Network and Virgin Mobile may keep quiet about it, but the policy is the same across all the networks.