O2 under fire over iPhone upgrades

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 9 Jun 2009 at 10:45

O2 has come under fire for insisting that existing iPhone subscribers either have to see out their contract or pay it off before they can upgrade to the new iPhone 3GS.

The mobile operator, which currently has exclusive rights to the phone in the UK, says that users have to cover the cost the phone's subsidy.

"As the iPhone 3G is subsidised by us you'll need to either hang on until your contract ends or pay extra to end it early," the company says in its Twitter stream.

But that explanation has largely fallen on deaf ears, with the Twitter tag #o2fail racking up hundreds of complaints about the carrier's upgrade policy.

"OK, the iPhone is subsidised, but that's not 100% of the monthly bill! Why should I pay for a service I won't use?" Asks pardel, while poppiestar says, "Thanks O2. I changed networks for you and this is how you repay me."

Their comments are not atypical.

Apple unveils iPhone 3GS will go on sale in the UK on 19 June. O2 will offer 18 month or 24 month contracts as well as a Pay and Go option for both the 16GB and 32Gb models.

Anyone wishing to make use of the iPhone's new tethering capabilities to use it as a wireless modem for a laptop will have to pay an extra £15 a month for up to 3GB of data, rising to £29 for 10GB. MMS will be covered by the standard contract, at a cost of four SMS text messages.