O2 service in UK and leaving a contract

[noshjewman]

I am thinking about leaving Orange after many years to get a 16GB iPhone (was hoping for 32GB, but that's another story...)

I am probably moving to the US in the next 18 months though - anyone know what O2's policy is on ending the contract early under these circumstances? I can't find it on their website.

On a related matter - their service. 'Unlimited' internet. How restrictive is their fair use? Can I use the iPlayer over 3G (I'm pretty sure that wifi downloads don't count as part of their fair use, right?) and other streaming services, or will they kick my arse for that?

Cheers!

 

[edesignuk]

I'd call and ask what happens with contacts if you're leaving the country, get the answer from the horses mouth, ask if they can provide their policy in writing. You don't want to be caught out later down the road.

With regard to iPlayer and their limits, I don't know for fact, but iPlayer is a huge bandwidth hog. I'd find it hard to believe they'd approve much of its use over their 3G network. Again, ask them.

 

[noshjewman]

Thanks!
I will call at some point soon to clarify, but I was able to find this statement:

"You may not use your SIM Card in any other device, or use your SIM Card or iPhone to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing or use them in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other customers of O2 or The Cloud."

... so I guess that means no iPlayer or live baseball! Makes me wonder whether using the mlb.com application that was shown at the keynote will actually be technically against this policy. I guess it depends on the definition of 'continuous'. If I stop after 30 seconds is that ok? After half an hour?
The policy also doesn't make it clear that when on a home network I should be able to stream as much video as I want. But maybe that is implied in the 'other customers of O2 or The Cloud'"

 

[edesignuk]

On a home network over your own landline Wi-Fi you can do as you please....subject to your ISP's T&C's.

 

[Aravintht]

Thanks!
I will call at some point soon to clarify, but I was able to find this statement:

"You may not use your SIM Card in any other device, or use your SIM Card or iPhone to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing or use them in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other customers of O2 or The Cloud."

... so I guess that means no iPlayer or live baseball! Makes me wonder whether using the mlb.com application that was shown at the keynote will actually be technically against this policy. I guess it depends on the definition of 'continuous'. If I stop after 30 seconds is that ok? After half an hour?
The policy also doesn't make it clear that when on a home network I should be able to stream as much video as I want. But maybe that is implied in the 'other customers of O2 or The Cloud'"

what about youtube? isn't that continuous streaming?

 

[EdYelland]

Don"t Do It!!!

I 'd been with Orange for about 12 years when I decided to move to o2 to get the iPhone - and I really wished I hadn't.

First of all, on Orange, you're probably used to very good call quality. Well you can forget about that - calls frequently sound a bit muffled / hissy - and certainly nowhere as good as on Orange. o2's coverage also leaves a lot to be desired - despite the claims that they have the best network there are an awful lot of blackspots in places Orange has great coverage - and there seem to be more blackspots in general; perhaps unsurprising as I've since found out that o2 have a lot less transmitters than Orange (or any other network).

Then there's the annoyance of delays to delivering text messages, calls going straight to voicemail, and voicemail alerts appearing 2 days after a message was left.

Add to the mix the fact o2 are in danger of losing their 3G license because they've failed to roll out the minimum 80% population coverage (Orange are at c95% for 3G and 99.5% for landmass) and you're left with a network that will drop your calls, be unavailable in many of the places you're likely to go and above all else will make you realise that Orange is much much better.

I'd get an iPhone and unlock it and use it on orange if I had the choice again.

 

[tersono]

I 'd been with Orange for about 12 years when I decided to move to o2 to get the iPhone - and I really wished I hadn't.

First of all, on Orange, you're probably used to very good call quality. Well you can forget about that - calls frequently sound a bit muffled / hissy - and certainly nowhere as good as on Orange. o2's coverage also leaves a lot to be desired - despite the claims that they have the best network there are an awful lot of blackspots in places Orange has great coverage - and there seem to be more blackspots in general; perhaps unsurprising as I've since found out that o2 have a lot less transmitters than Orange (or any other network).

Then there's the annoyance of delays to delivering text messages, calls going straight to voicemail, and voicemail alerts appearing 2 days after a message was left.

Add to the mix the fact o2 are in danger of losing their 3G license because they've failed to roll out the minimum 80% population coverage (Orange are at c95% for 3G and 99.5% for landmass) and you're left with a network that will drop your calls, be unavailable in many of the places you're likely to go and above all else will make you realise that Orange is much much better.

I'd get an iPhone and unlock it and use it on orange if I had the choice again.

I also moved from Orange to O2 (albeit not for the iPhone) and had completely the opposite experience.

1. Orange coverage in this area is inferior to O2s by some considerable margin (I had real problems using Orange at work, for instance, not so with O2). So far I haven't had a problem anywhere I go....

2. Sound quality. Absolutely NO difference whatsoever (bearing in mind that I used similar HTC smartphones with both providers).

Being realistic about this, it's going to be very much down to where you are and what phone you are using. Both networks offer good coverage, but there are some variations between them from one area to another. Another minor point is that I was with Orange for years, but had noticed their customer service deteriorating somewhat - o2, however, are as good as Orange were back in the early days.

O2's broadband deals for cellphone subscribers are just the icing on the cake - currently on a 16mbit down, 1.3mbit up deal with a static IP and no cap for £15 per month (actual speeds are close to that - about 14mbit down).

 

[The Phazer]

At the moment the iPlayer is blocked over Edge by the BBC themselves (allegedly because O2 said they were going to block it anyway) and I don't see that changing on the 3G phone (though hopefully the new BBC radio formats coming next month will allow iPhones to access iPlayer Radio…).

The terms and conditions of the fair use policy specifically say you cannot watch streaming media, but nobody at O2 has ever really explained how this fits with the YouTube app.

Phazer