Broadband: Compare features & prices O2 The Works review Back to Results

Though it's better known as a mobile phone operator, O2 has considerable reach as a broadband provider, and Sky is attempting to takeover its broadband business. We surveyed Which? members to see if they'd recommend O2 broadband to friends and family.
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Specification criteria Specification
Type of package
Package types Whether this package advertises standard broadband speeds or superfast speeds(above 24Mbps) Standard broadband
Package type Shows the type of broadband technology this package uses ADSL
Package type Is this package broadband-only or a broadband and phone package including line rental. Broadband
Contact details
Website www.o2.co.uk/broadband
Broadband sales phone number Phone number for sales only (unless otherwise stated) 0800 380 0402
Subscription costs
Monthly cost notes £5 cheaper for O2 mobile customers
Promotions and special offers Up to 12 months half price
Speed
Maximum download speed (Mbps) The maximum advertised speed - applies to things like surfing the web or downloading media files. Actual speed will vary depending on your distance from the exchange and the number of people online at the same time. 16.0
Maximum upload speed Mbps The maximum upload speed applies to things like sending emails or adding photos to online albums - it's often much slower than the download speed. 2
Contract and cancellation
Minimum contract term (months) The minimum term you'll be tied in for without being able to switch provider. If you want to change company within your minimum contract you'll have to pay a hefty fee. 12
Line activation cost Some companies charge a one-off fee for setting up your phone line to support their broadband service. £25.53 (Free connection for O2 customers).
Cancellation fee £ The fee you will be charged if you cancel your service within the term of your contract. £15.83 if less than 30 days notification given, plus any outstanding subscription charges.
Cancellation fee conditions n/a
Equipment
Free equipment? Whether the company provides equipment to connect to the internet as part of the deal Yes
Equipment cost Whether you get your broadband equipment for free Free
Equipment provided What type of equipment you get for free, such as standard modem, router, wireless router etc. O2 Wireless box IV (enhanced n wireless router)
Equipment notes O2 Wireless box is leased to you for duration of contract.
Switching
If a customer switches to another ISP do they get to keep this equipment? Some companies that include equipment for free will require it back if you switch away from them - it's more of a loan than free equipment. No
Switching ISP conditions Equipment must be returned to O2 in pre-paid envelope provided. If equipment has not been returned 30 days after contract termination, an additional £50 charge may apply.
Other costs
Bundled package? Whether the broadband service is bundled together with other services, such as telephone calls or digital TV. No
Bundle details You can add O2 home phone line rental, the basic package is £13
Phone line rental included? Whether the bundled service includes phone line rental. All broadband packages require you to have an active phone line, which means if line rental is not included you will have to pay another company, such as BT, for line rental. BT charges between £10.50 and £12.50 for phone line rental. No
Limits
Unlimited data transfer? Whether or not the service has a cap on the amount of data you can down- or upload every month. Yes
Monthly data transfer limit (GB) The limit on any data transfer. You'll usuall have to pay extra if you exceed it. Unlimited
Data transfer limit conditions What happens if you exceed your data transfer limit. Some services have different limits depending on the time of day you use your service (eg unlimited between midnight and 6am). O2 has usage counters for customers to monitor data usage. We will notify you when you've reached 75%, 90% and 100% of your plan usage allowance. If you use more than 250GB in any month, O2 will give you a written warning (by email or otherwise). In extreme circumstances, if the levels of activity dont decrease in line with O2 instructions after the warning, O2 may terminate or suspend your Services.
Cost for usage above data transfer limit (£/GB) If you exceed your cap, how much will you pay per GB of usage. n/a
Is there a fair usage policy? Most 'unlimited' broadband packages have a fair usage policy, which comes into affect if customers are slowing down the broadband speed for others, due to 'excessive usage'. Yes
Fair usage policy conditions What happens if you exceed your fair usage policy There is a fair usage limit of around 250GB for The Works. If you exceed these limits, or O2 feel that your activities are so excessive that other customers are detrimentally affected, O2 may give you a written warning (by email or otherwise). In extreme circumstances, if the levels of activity dont immediately decrease in line with O2 instructions after the warning, O2 may terminate or suspend your Services.
Is there a traffic management policy? Yes
Traffic management policy conditions The contention ratio is the maximum number of people who can be sharing your connection at a given time. This will affect the speed of your service. The lower the number, the better. Some companies now use other traffic management systems to ensure bandwidth is shared out fairly at busy times. Typically applied from 4pm to midnight on weekdays and 12pm to midnight on weekends. Traffic managed - sharing files (peer-to-peer)
Extras
No. of email accounts How many separate email accounts you can set up. 10
Free web space (MB) How much web space is provided for you to set up your own web page. n/a
Cost of telephone support (£ per minute) How much it costs to call the ISP's technical help line. Free
Mac compatible Whether the service is compatible with Apple Mac computers. Yes
Mac compatible notes n/a
Free spam filters Yes
Free antivirus protection Yes
Webmail Yes
Free parental controls Yes
Is service available with a static IP address? A static IP address will allow you to access your computer from anywhere in the world. This could be particularly useful if you work as an independent and need to access files remotely. Yes
Static IP details and costs Not all broadband providers offer static IP addresses. You may have to pay additional monthly charges for this service with some providers. Free
Is this package available in all areas? If this package is available in all geographic areas. Some packages are only available in certain areas. This includes local loop unbundled (LLU) packages which allows the service to offer faster speeds and lower prices, but may make it more difficult to switch away. No
Does package cost more outside a certain geographic area? Some packages are either unavailable, or cost more outside of certain geographic areas. Where additional costs apply outside these areas, we list these as separate packages. This package is not available in non-LLU areas. Customers outside the LLU area have the option of the Access package
Approximate percentage of UK households covered by restricted geographic area (includes LLU or lower cost areas) 70

O2 The Works

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