TELECOMS & MOBILE
O2 unveils mobile broadband offering
09-07-2007
by Emmet Ryan
Mobile operator O2 Ireland has launched a broadband service providing download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps.
O2 Broadband will enable up to 10GB of data to be downloaded as standard per month, through a USB modem, with no additional charges for occasional usage in excess of this.
The service will initially be available for a three-month introductory price of EUR15 per month for those with an existing O2 post-pay voice connection or for new post-pay customers taking a voice connection. The service will cost EUR20 for all other customers. Following the three-month promotional period, the monthly cost is EUR30 for customers with voice connection and EUR40 per month for all other customers. The USB modem will cost around EUR69.
"Last year O2 announced a major upgrade of its network in order to provide a powerful and reliable platform to deliver feature-rich services at speeds faster than those provided by fixed broadband networks and with the added advantage of mobility," said Jude Lynch, sales director of O2 Ireland. "We are delighted to now be in a position to bring the first of our broadband services to the market offering speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, ahead of those typically used on fixed line broadband services in Ireland today."
The service is based on HSDPA technology and O2 claims it will be able to offer the service to 75 percent of the country's population from the launch. O2 is also rolling out an EDGE network nationwide for customers unable to access the HSDPA service.
"EDGE is an enhancement to the 2G network, in the same way that HSDPA is an enhancement to the 3G network. EDGE provides speeds four to five times faster than GPRS," said Lynch.
O2 Broadband is available through any O2 Retail store nationwide.
O2's rivals Vodafone and Three Ireland have both released broadband offerings in the past year.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 