Oct/Nov 2007

Free unlimited use of 7,500 Wi-Fi wireless hotspots in the The Cloud network is included in three new tariffs announced by O2 to support the UK launch of Apple's much-hyped iPhone. O2 has been appointed the sole network supplier in the UK.

O2 is calling this an industry first, adding that it expects up to two thirds of use to be on Wi-Fi connections. O2 has also announced the UK roll-out of its EDGE network (a technology that speeds up GPRS data connections), and confirmed that data downloads will be unlimited (subject to fair use) on the new phone.

The three tariffs cost £35, £45 and £55. The retail price of £228 plus VAT for the 8GB version of the phone itself is not cheap in consumer terms, but still modest compared with the price of even PDAs, let alone industrial handheld units; so in theory the phone could appeal to field service users, even though early promotion seems directed to consumer features such as music downloads.