Carphone Warehouse offers unlimited data for £12/month

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 6 Apr 2011 at 10:07

The Carphone Warehouse has announced an unlimited mobile internet package that starts from £12/month, bucking a trend for tighter caps on data downloads.

The ‘never pay for the internet’ plan will run on its Talkmobile virtual network across the Vodafone infrastructure.

The all-you-can-eat allowance is a surprise in the industry which has seen most major players - bar Three – place limits, caps or fair-usage policies on data plans.

There’s no small print or fair-usage policy, so when we say 'unlimited internet' access we really mean it

The company claimed the plan would simplify mobile browsing for people that have previously been priced out of the market, and included no "small print" to catch users out.

“We wanted to offer customers a catch-free data tariff and we’re really looking forward to seeing the results of this trial,” said Mark Eastham, UK trading director at Carphone Warehouse.

Despite the firm's website suggesting there is indeed a fair-use policy, Eastham said there were no caps on downloads. “There’s no small print or fair-usage policy, so when we say 'unlimited internet' access we really mean it. There’s a range of tariffs to suit all budgets and 30 smartphones to choose from when taking out a contract.”

According to Carphone Warehouse, its website will be amended to reflect the lack of a fair-use policy by tomorrow morning.

The £12/month plan is only available to users willing to sign up to a 24-month contract, but does include handsets, with an HTC Wildfire one of the choices.

The company claimed unlimited data packages had previously been the exclusive domain of consumers paying £25/month or more, although rival virtual provider Giffgaff might argue the point with its £10 package also offering unlimited data.