O2 unlimited data? Oh dear..

Link: Consumer Data Bolt On – Tariffs – Mobiles & Tariffs – O2

SMS Text News reader Barry got in touch just now to highlight O2’s rather stupid ‘unlimited’ data offering. They’re trying to hard to match similar options from T-Mobile and Three, but manage to completely screw it up by throwing in loads of conditions and exclusions.

Here’s what they have to say:

O2 Web Bolt On gives you unlimited* browsing through your phone for £7.50 per month

So far so good. What do you reckon their definition of ‘unlimited’ is? 1Gb? 2Gb? Maybe even three? Nope – not a hope in hell. Buried in small print on the page, they say:

A fair use of 200MB per month applies to the O2 Web Bolt On. A fair use of 3GB per month applies to O2 Web Max.

Eh? Let’s compare this with T-Mobile. Web’n’Walk on your phone is £7.50 a month, and gives you 1Gb of data. You can even do pay-as-you-go Web’n’Walk for a quid a day.

However, there is one ray of sunshine in this whole mess. They give you a free trial of data services to all customers before you decide to commit. How much do you reckon you’ll get for free? If you’ve got a tariff with less than 600 minutes, it’s a very generous 100KB. Wow, what a lot. It gets even better if you’ve got over 600 minutes a month on your tariff – you get a whole 512KB to play with.

The bottom line? Utter crap. Sorry and all that, but it is. If these are the basis for the T&Cs for EDGE data on the iPhone, then I’m wondering whether Apple realise they’ve really shot themselves in the foot.

Update: SMS Text News reader Paul got in touch, pointing out that the T&Cs for the Web Bolt On are even more strict than first thought. Witness these points, from the O2 terms and conditions page

The O2 Web Bolt On can only be added to a consumer voice tariff and allows you unlimited use of O2’s 3G/GPRS Mobile Data Services for Permitted Uses only.

Permitted Uses of theO2 Web Bolt On are uses of your SIM Card within a handheld mobile device for the purposes of Internet Browsing and email (excluding BlackBerry® email) only.

Any other use of the O2 Web Bolt On will not be a Permitted Use, including but not limited to:

1.      Use with Data Cards or Modems;
2.      Instant Messaging,
3.      IP Telephony,
4.      Point 2 Point file sharing and file transfer,
5.      VoIP (e.g. Skypeâ„¢),
6.      Video and TV streaming,
7.      Slingboxes; and
8.      Use in conjunction with routers.

O2 reserves the right to suggest an upgrade to O2 Web Max or to withdraw the O2 Web Bolt On from you at any time if O2 reasonably suspects you of using the service for uses other than the Permitted Uses or abuse of the service, including using an atypical volume of data as compared to normal users of the O2 Web Bolt On, which will normally be less than 200MB of usage within a one month bill cycle (termed ‘fair usage”).

O2 will contact you before the O2 Web Bolt On is withdrawn or upgraded. If for any reason contact is not possible then O2 may temporarily bar the service until contact can be made. In the event that O2 withdraws the O2 Web Bolt On, O2 is not obliged to offer any alternative replacement service. If O2 determines that you may upgrade to an alternative service which is more appropriate for your requirements then, if you consent, O2 will transfer you to the alternative service as soon as is reasonably practicable after you advise O2 that this is what you wish to do.

So basically you can’t use it for IM, VoIP, streaming, file transfer, or anything really useful. Do O2 realise the internet has changed a lot since the early 90’s?