Sky and Talk Talk are the latest apparent bidders to join the race acquire O2 from Telefonica. Talks between the Spanish telecoms firm and Sky and Talk Talk are said to be taking place, according to reports, just days after it was revealed China’s Hutchison Whampoa, the owner mobile network Three, was revealed to be in the running.
Mobile network Three is reportedly set to acquire its rival O2 for more than £10bn in cash. Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing is set to become one of the biggest foreign investors in the UK when his Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate acquires the O2 network from its Spanish owner Telefónica.
Hutchison Whampoa will become the UK's biggest mobile phone operator after agreeing a deal to buy O2. The 10.25 billion-pound ($15.3 billion) price includes an initial sum of 9.25 billion pounds in cash, with a deferred payment of £1 billion
Motorola is launching a new Gold Moto 360 model today that will exclusively be stocked in the UK by O2. Available for pre-order online exclusively from O2, the Moto 360 blends the latest smartwatch specs with a traditional watch look.
5G
O2 and Vodafone plan to extend the existing network sharing partnership term and include 5G at joint radio network sites. This would enable both O2 and Vodafone to deploy 5G faster, to offer 5G services to more customers over a wider geographic area, and to do so at a lower cost.
O2 5G
O2 has announced it will begin the rollout of its 5G network this year in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. Other areas of the UK will enjoy rollout from 2020 to coincide with the wider availability of 5G handsets.
O2 is now offering the cellular version of the Apple Watch. When Apple first launched an LTE version of its Watch (with Series 3) it exclusively partnered with EE. Vodafone connectivity was added at the end of last year and now O2 customers can get the smartphone on the company's custom plans.
O2 has confirmed it will launch its own 5G network this year. Chief executive Mark Evans said O2 is "committed to launching 5G this year" and is "excited" to show customers the new experiences it can offer.
O2 5G
O2 has announced that they will be switching on their 5G network in October 2019, beginning with areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Slough and Leeds. By the end of the year, they’ll be live in 20 towns and cities and rolling out to a total of 50 by summer 2020.
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
O2 are due to launch their 5G network in October, and the company has brought forward the date that customers can get 5G ready with the new flagship device from Samsung, the Galaxy S10 5G, which is now available from today online and in-store on O2 custom plans.
EE
Three UK launched its 5G service in London earlier today, promptly causing EE to file a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) claiming that its slogan, "If it's not Three, it's not real 5G", is misleading. EE is seeking a ban on the ads because they clearly imply that alternative networks' 5G are inferior by comparison.
telefonica
O2 has joined the rest of the UK's main carriers and launched unlimited data plans of its own. These start from £33 per month on an 18-month SIM-only plan, or can be had for £35 per month on a 12-month SIM plan and with variable pricing alongside select handsets.
O2 5G
O2 today turned on 5G in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Slough and Leeds with a promise to have 20 total locations by the end of 2019. It offers four 5G phones, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G, Samsung Galaxy A90 5G and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G.
O2 has unveiled a new experimental store format in partnership with retailer, NEXT. The pilot, known by O2 as Shop-in-Shop, will see four new O2 stores opened within NEXT stores across the country, with ambitions to roll out more widely in the coming months.
O2 has launched a new range of Pay-As-You-Go Bundles, which include unlimited calls and texts as standard but require you to top-up every month in order to get the allowance. The bundles include O2 Priority, (with unique member benefits and discounts).
Microsoft’s new 4G, 2-in-1 laptop, the Surface Pro X, is now available on O2 as a UK network operator exclusive on custom plans from today. The Surface Pro X is a premium, lightweight and ultra-thin device that features a beautiful edge-to-edge 13” PixelSense OLED touchscreen display and Windows 10.
O2
O2 has today launched 'O2 extras', enabling customers to choose from a broad range of digital perks. With O2 extras, customers can take customisation further by choosing Amazon Prime Video and getting access to a range of top films and Amazon Original TV shows like The Grand Tour, Good Omens, The Boys and exclusive Premier League matches in December; or choosing Amazon Music to enjoy unlimited access to more than 50 million songs, ad-free ; or choosing the world’s largest selection of audiobooks and original podcasts with Audible; or access to hundreds of the UK’s most popular magazines with Cafeyn.
Ads
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned "misleading" advertisements from BT and O2, following complaints from rival companies and members of the public.
Dixons-Carphone
Dixons CarPhone is to part ways with O2 after unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate the terms of its arrangement, after 20 years in business together.
O2
O2's 5G network is now live in areas of 60 towns and cities across the UK, beating its original target. The milestone comes at the same time that O2 reaches 10,000 sites for its first-to-market LTE-M (Long Term Evolution, category M1) network.
BlockChain
Telefónica has launched the Telefónica Activation Programme, an initiative aimed at start-ups and SMEs in Germany, Spain and the UK seeking to enhance their technological solutions and accelerate their business development through IoT, Blockchain and Big Data/AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies grouped into Telefónica Tech.
O2 Guru
With 59% of people still unsure about visiting – or unable to visit – their local high street, O2 has launched a digital guru service, taking the knowledge and skills of its team of Guru experts online.
O2 Bubl
O2 has launched a new creative platform, in a new positioning that OS says is the company returning to its roots; "a brand and business that’s obsessed with putting customers’ first", building on its industry leading levels of customer loyalty through a completely new creative direction with the introduction of Bubl.
Blis
Blis has today announced an exclusive partnership with O2 that will give clients exceptional accuracy and scale when advertising online. The proposition, Telco-powered Targeting – together with O2, will use aggregated and anonymised customer behaviour data to match websites with audience segments.
Google Pixel 4a
Google launched the Pixel 4a back in August, and the mid-range smartphone is is now available to pre-order on O2, ahead of it going on sale on 1st October. The Pixel 4a has a 4.5% bigger screen than its predecessor but its body is 5.8% smaller overall. At only 144mm in length, 69.4mm in width, 8.8mm in thickness and weighing 143g, the Pixel 4a is one of the smallest phones you can buy in 2020.
telefonica
O2 has announced new flexible business tariffs for SMB customers, designed to suit their ever changing company needs. The new O2 Business tariffs include automatic data rollover and the option to increase or decrease their data allowances, giving them flexibility over their monthly usage.
Bubl Robot Tiktok
O2 has marked the arrival of its new brand platform, Bubl, by taking the robot to TikTok. In the first ever robot dance on TikTok, O2 launched the O2BublDance Duet Competition on Thursday 17th September to showcase how O2 is there to help you whenever – even when its learning the latest dance routine.
Nokia 8.3 5G
The Nokia 8.3 5G, one of the latest handsets to offer 5G alongside some pretty impressive mid-range specs, is now available to pre-order on O2, ahead of it going on sale on 8th October.
Sony Xperia 5 II
Sony Xperia 5 II, the company's second 5G enabled smartphone, is now available from O2 online and over the phone. Customers can also purchase Sony Xperia 5 II in-store from Thursday 15th October.
O2
O2 has launched its Black Friday deals a day early, with savings of up to £400 on some of the most popular flagship devices from the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Competition and Markets Authority
UK competition regulator the CMA has referred the proposed merger of Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile with Telefónica’s O2 for an in-depth Phase 2 probe following Virgin and O2’s request that the watchdog move quickly to this stage through a ‘fast-track’ process.
Competition and Markets Authority
The UK competition regulator, the CMA, is to investigate whether Virgin Media’s proposed £31bn tie-up with telecoms operator O2 could lead to higher prices for mobile and broadband customers or poorer 5G connectivity for rival operators.
OpenRAN
O2 and NEC have successfully completed an Open RAN trial on O2’s network with NEC and its ecosystem of partners that includes virtualised RAN software from Altiostar and hardware from GigaTera Communications and Supermicro among others.