In a somewhat coordinated statement, BE’s sister company O2 Broadband have also announced that they intend to run fibre optic trials later this year.

Based on the current positioning of each of the companies, we can assume that BE’s fibre effort will look to satisfy their speed and bandwidth hungry customers with a truly unlimited offering. O2 on the other hand will be catering for the more mainstream audience with more varied packages which will most likely involve some kind of cap on speed and bandwidth.

It’s worth saying that at this stage this is pure speculation as neither company have announced any solid details of the plans that they’ll offer. It should also be noticed that both ISP’s will be utilising BT’s existing fibre network so speeds will be capped at 40Mbps, like many of the other ISP’s who are utilising BT’s wholesale network (including the likes of  Talk Talk, Plusnet and BT themselves.

Chris Stening from BE gave the following statement:

“There’s terrific demand for a fibre service and I hear all your feedback online and by phone. We’re determined to offer a fibre product with all the things you love about BE – great service, award winning support and super fast speeds, no matter how much you download.

BE members know that speed is affected by much more than the materials of the cabling that runs into the cabinet though. In practice that means an unlimited, unthrottled connection from BE could be faster for downloading films than a fibre connection with traffic management.

So our plans for fibre have to be something unlimited and unshaped too, otherwise it simply defeats the object of having greater speed. It’s great to be told you could get speeds up to some high level, but with traffic management it is unlikely you’ll get it for long. We are unlikely to be the cheapest in the market but we are determined to be the best.”

O2‘s Head of Home and Broadband, Felix Geyr, said:

“While I can’t give too many details of the service at this stage we want to ensure that we will provide the right customer experience in place before we go live. As a result we are currently looking at the infrastructure and where in the UK we run the trial.

What we are determined to do is offer a service that has all the things you love about our existing LLU broadband packages – great service and support and of course super fast speeds. The fine tuning of the packages, including pricing, is currently being decided and I will update you over the coming months when we have more detail.

As a result our current planning is for a service to be available later this year. Nearer the time we will launch a pre-registration programme, prioritising our existing customers first.”

If you can’t wait for either BE or O2 to launch their fibre offering, don’t forget that Talk Talk, Plusnet, Virgin Media and of course BT Broadband all have their own fibre optic products ready for your consumption. As soon as more news is announced from O2 and BE Broadband, we’ll be the first to let you know.

O2 have an even better offer for their existing mobile customers. If you’ve had an O2 mobile for 2 years or more, you can get The All Rounder and The Works packages with a fantastic 6 months free. Whats more, as an existing O2 mobile customer when your free broadband period has ended, you’ll get £5 off your bills every month.

O2 like to keep their packages simple, so they’ve still just got three broadband packages, ranging from ‘The Basics’, to ‘The All Rounder’, to ‘The Works’. We’ve put together a summary of each of the packages which have free broadband offers currently running, to help you to make your decision.

‘The All Rounder’

The all rounder does what it says. This package gives you unlimited downloads (fair usage policy applies), with up to 20Meg download, and 1.3Meg upload speeds. Line rental is included in this package, so you just pay for the calls that you use. You get a wireless router, plus security software for use on up to three computers. You’ll also get completely free UK customer support. The All Rounder package is £20.00 a month if you’re on O2. (Plus a £0.00connection fee.)

‘The Works’

With The Works package, you get the best of everything. You’ll get up to 20Meg download speeds, and up to 2.5Meg upload speeds. You’ll also get unlimited downloads, which is also subject to a fair usage policy. Line rental is also included with this package, so you’ll just pay for the calls that you use. With this package you get free security software for use on up to 5 computers, and you’ll also get a static IP address. This package is £28.50 a month if you’re on O2. (Plus a £0.00connection fee.) £33.50 a month if you’re not. (Plus a £25.53 connection fee)

Checkout our O2 broadband deals page to signup now

The site, which has been enabling its users to review their own broadband providers for over 5 years, has collated all of their broadband reviews to give a snapshot of how their users have rated their broadband providers based on speed, reliability, cost and customer service.

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Broadband.org broadband reviews have been announced as:

Cheapest broadband provider

O2 Broadband

O2 won this category with a perfect 10 out of 10 rating from their users

- runner up

Sky Broadband & BE Broadband

Be Broadband and Sky Broadband were runners up in thBE Broadbandboth with average ratings of 8 out of 10 for price.  It’s worth pointing out that BE Broadband are owned by Telefonica Group, who also own O2 – they obviously know what their customers like when it comes to cost.

Fastest broadband provider

O2 Broadband

O2 won this category, with an average rating of 9 out of 10 for broadband speed, a nearly perfect score.

- runner up

BE Broadband

O2‘s sister company – BE Broadband narrowly fell short of the top spot in this award, with an average rating of 8 out of 10 for speed. O2 and BE run off the same network, which doesn’t rely on BT’s wholesale product, this means they’re able to set their own standards for fast internet. Something which their users have recognised with their great broadband reviews.

Most reliable broadband provider

BE Broadband & O2 Broadband

It’s hardly surprising that BE and O2 have scooped the joint top prize for this category. They both share the same network which is effectively owned by their parent group company Telefonica. BE Broadband sell their product as a high speed and highly reliable solution, whereas O2 Broadband have positiioned themselves as a more accessible and mainstream provider – however it looks as though both companies are quite capable of keeping their users satisfied when it comes to reliability. Yet another advantage of not having to rely on the BT wholesale network like so many other providers. Both companies scored an exemplary 9 out of 10 for reliability.

- runner up

Plusnet Broadband

Plusnet Broadband were the runner up in this category, achieving a respectable 7 out of 10 rating by their broadband subscribers. With such cheap prices it’s good to see that their users feel that they’re receiving a reliable service as well.

Best customer service ISP

O2 Broadband

O2 Broadband have again scored a perfect 10 out of 10 when being reviewed by their broadband users on the customer service that they provide.

- runner up

The runner up in this category is again BE Broadband, who have been pipped to the post by their sister company O2, by scoring an extremely respectable 9 out of 10, for customer service. AgaBE Broadbandat O2 Broadband and BE Broadband are owned by the same Telefonica Group, it’s hardly surprising that they offer such a similar service. It is however highly commendable that they both appear to such high levels of service , a real credit to their owners.

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So there you have it. Telefonica Group compadres O2 Broadband and BE Broadband have both come out on top in all cateBE Broadbandresults are reflected in the average broadband rating that each provider received. BE Broadband had an average customer rating of 8.4 out of 10, and O2 received a near perfect average rating of 9.5 out of 10.  It’s also worth noting that 100% of BE Broadbandnk”rel=”nofollow”title=”O2″ >O2‘s customers rated them positively, with 91% of BE Broadband’s customers leaving them a positive review.

Simon Devonshire, general manager of Small and Medium Business at O2, said:

“We understand just how vital internet access is to our customers in terms of managing their day to day operations. We also know the pressure they’re under to cut costs, save time and improve efficiency. Our number one focus is on making their lives easier, and helping them succeed by providing a competitive and high quality business broadband service, backed by the infrastructure to give them the right support and guarantee peace of mind.”

All of O2’s new business packages have at least one Static IP address and 24 hour technical support included in the cost. Specifications for the packages are as follows;

O2 Home Office (LLU)
Download Speed up to 20Mbps
Upload Speed up to 1.3Mbps
150GB Usage Allowance
Free Wireless Router
McAfee Security Suite (2 licences)
FREE Connection (Migrating Customers)

£15.50 (Ex VAT) Per Month (+£5 for non-O2 Users)

O2 Office 10 (LLU)
Download Speed up to 20Mbps
Upload Speed up to 2.5Mbps
300GB Usage Allowance
Free Wireless Router
McAfee Security Suite (10 licences)
FREE Connection (Migrating Customers)

£22.50 Per Month (Ex VAT) (+£5 for non-O2 Users)

O2 Access (non-LLU)
Download Speed up to 8Mbps
Upload Speed up to 0.4Mbps
Free Wireless Router
McAfee Security Suite

£25 Per Month (Ex VAT) (+£5 for non-O2 Users) ]]> http://www.broadband.org/blog/o2-broadband-launches-two-business-broadband-packages/feed/ 0 http://www.broadband.org/blog/o2-launch-business-broadband/ http://www.broadband.org/blog/o2-launch-business-broadband/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 15:52:24 +0000 broadbandorg http://www.broadband.org/blog/o2-launch-business-broadband/ O2 have launched a range of broadband packages targeted at small businesses with downloads speeds of up to 20Mbps for customers on their LLU network or alternatively upto 8Mbps via a BT wholesale service

There are four packages available, Standard, Premium, Ultimate and Access. With the high end, Access package, O2 will provide a free wireless router that can use two SSIDs  has a static IP address, five McAfee security package licenses, unlimited download usage, 24×7 UK-based business support, and is connected free of charge. O2 will also provide 10 email addresses and 100 free web texts per month.

for more information please visit o2 broadband

To include customer out with there LLU network they will now supply users using BT’s wholesale network. The non LLU package costs an extra £10 per month although the

£5 discount is still availalble to existing O2 mobile customers.

The package comes with up to 8 Mbps download speeds and unlimited usage more details can be found on the O2 broadband website

if you want to read all the ratings please visit our reviews section