O2 review: Speed isn’t everything

O2 has been around in one form or another since the mid-1980s and, despite some stiff competition from EE and Vodafone , it’s the largest mobile operator in the UK. It’s the host network on which a range of virtual networks, including Giffgaff , Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile run, and it’s now merging with Virgin Media, which might have big implications for both.

O2 has never focused on the value end of the market. Instead, it’s positioned as a premium option like key rivals EE and Vodafone. Where it doesn’t win on price, it tries to push on overall value, with some brilliant bundle offers, extra features and perks like its Priority rewards programme. And while it’s spent most of the 4G era coming fourth-best in terms of speed, there are signs that it’s turning that around as we move into 5G.

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O2 review: What do you get?

O2 sells contract and PAYG handsets along with SIM-only plans, but it does things a little differently. Instead of buying a phone with a 24-month plan and a fixed upfront cost, you can create your own plan, based on the upfront cost you’re willing to pay, the length of the contract and the monthly data allowance. This makes sense if you want to keep, say, a flagship phone for three years and pay for it over the whole period, and once you’ve paid off the cost of your device the price of the plan goes down automatically.

You can upgrade your phone whenever you like – though you’ll have to pay off the rest of your device plan – and you can change your airtime tariff up or down once per month, to get more data or reduce your costs. Also, as O2 is busy recycling old phones, it can sell refurbished models at a lower cost.

This gives you a lot of flexibility, but it doesn’t actually mean lower costs. In fact, O2 remains one of the more expensive networks for buying a new phone. At the time of writing, you can have an iPhone 12 from just £37.30 a month with £30 upfront, but that’s when the contract spans 36 months. With 30GB on a 24-month contract you’re looking at £55 a month with £30 upfront, which works out at £1350 over the full term. That’s substantially more than you’ll pay with Virgin Mobile , Tesco Mobile, Three or iD Mobile . Go for the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE , and you’ll pay £51.23 a month plus £30 upfront, or £1259. Again, other networks are cheaper.

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That said, it’s well worth fiddling with the parameters to see if O2 has any better offers. We found that you could upgrade from 30GB to 100GB a month on the iPhone just by spending an extra penny, while 250GB was available on the Samsung phone for the same increase. If you’re a big data user, O2 sometimes has some cracking deals, but you might have to find them for yourself.

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How does O2 work out for SIM-only deals? Well, the pricing can still be a problem. Plans are available on 24-month, 12-month and 30-day contracts, and those with smaller data allowances are comparatively expensive, particularly on the one-year deals. O2’s best options come when you splash out for 60GB or more on a two-year contract, although you’ll still find the likes of Three and iD Mobile undercutting them with unlimited data deals.

Don’t count O2 out, however. It sometimes runs fantastic limited time offers, while some of the perks are genuinely useful, especially if you go to a lot of live events at O2 venues (once things open up). Some contracts also come with nice free entertainment extras, like six months of Disney Plus or Amazon Music Unlimited, or 12 months of Amazon Prime Video or Audible.

O2 review: Coverage and connection speeds

There’s nothing wrong with O2’s 4G coverage – it can now serve over 99% of the UK population, and the latest coverage maps from RootMetrics show that you should get a reliable signal as long as you’re not in the Scottish highlands or western islands – or the occasional 3G-only blackspot. O2 also scored well in the last RootMetrics survey for the reliability of its data connections. To many people, that’s just as important as raw speeds.

All the same, O2 is still playing catch-up in that area. It still came last out of the major UK networks in the last set of RootMetrics tests, and its UK median download speed of 12.9Mbits/sec looks a little puny in comparison to EE’s mighty 43Mbits/sec. Performance is improving in some key metropolitan areas but seems to be going backwards in some others. Basically, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

That might be on its way as O2 pushes forwards into 5G. Where RootMetrics testers could only record 5G results in four out of 16 UK cities for its first 2020 report, they were able to connect in 11 for the second, with impressive median download speeds of at least 85Mbits/sec in each one. Coverage is steadily growing all the time, so there’s definitely potential for O2 to move up the rankings.

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O2 review: Roaming

O2 gives you free roaming inside its Europe Zone, so you can use your inclusive minutes, texts and data just like you would in the UK. What’s more, O2 doesn’t put any additional restrictions on data usage and allows you to use a data add-on (or bolt-on) if you go over your allowance.

Outside Europe, you have two options. The best is the Travel Inclusive bolt-on, which lets you roam in 75 destinations at no extra cost, and gives you up to 120 minutes, 120 texts and data roaming in 27 other popular destinations, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Myanmar and the United States. It’s bundled in with O2 contracts that give you more than 90GB of data or can be purchased separately at £3.99 per day.

Otherwise, you’re looking at paying O2’s standard international charges, and at £2 per minute for calls, 50p per text and up to £7.20 per megabyte, these don’t come cheap. At least O2 caps its roaming charges at £51.50 a month while you’re outside the UK.

O2 review: Other services and spending caps

If you’re worried about excessive UK spending, O2 supports caps that you can set anywhere between £0 and £200. You’ll need to contact O2 by phone or online chat to add, remove or change your spending cap.

Otherwise, O2’s biggest selling point is its exclusive perks, including store offers for O2 customers, priority booking for O2-sponsored events and shows at O2 venues, not to mention VIP treatment when you go to an event. These might not convince you to sign up for an O2 contract, but they’re definitely a nice extra if you do.

O2 review: Customer satisfaction

If O2 struggles in some areas, it’s doing well when it comes to customer service. Ofcom’s latest research puts its overall customer satisfaction score at 91% and its scores for customers with a reason to complain and overall satisfaction with complaint handling are, respectively, lower and higher than the average. Call waiting times are a little up on the last survey, but complaints to Ofcom per 100,000 subscribers are down. The only area where some dissatisfaction seems to be creeping in is on value for money. Here Vodafone’s score – 79% – sits 4% below the industry average.

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O2 review: Verdict

O2 is a solid, reliable network that does a great job of keeping its customers happy. If you can find a good deal on a phone or a high-data plan, then it’s definitely worth a look. All the same, EE is still beating it on performance, while the likes of Three and iD Mobile are beating it on price. While the perks and bundles might sway you in O2’s direction, you should check what the competition offers before signing up.