O2 UK has become the first UK mobile operator to scrap unlimited data plans, following a similar move by AT&T in the US last week.
From 24 June, when O2 launches the iPhone, the network will launch three new data bundles for new and upgrading customers, all including unlimited texts, and a fixed amount of data.
Customers on a £25, £30 or £35 monthly tariff will get 500MB of data, plus 100, 200 or 300 minutes of voice calls. Customers on a £40 or £45 tariff get 750MB of data plus 900 or 1200 minutes. Customers on a £60 tariff get 1GB of data and unlimited minutes. If they use up their allowance, O2 customers can buy a 500MB bolt-on for £5, or a 1GB bolt-on for £10. Any unused data in this bolt-on is not carried over into the following month.
O2 says the new plans give customers a more transparent model, tied to usage, and points out that, based on current usage patterns, 97 per cent of O2 smartphone customers would not have to buy an additional data allowance.
“We know that customers are looking for clarity in pricing, as too many offers have clauses and catches which are not easy to understand,” says O2 UK CEO, Ronan Dunne. “With the wide range of internet-based services now available on mobile devices, were providing customers with generous, clear data bundles that give customers freedom. This enables us to provide a better overall experience for the majority of our customers and to better manage demand.”
David Murphy writes:
O2s decision to pull the plug on unlimited data plans may have come as a shock to many, but it really shouldnt have done. O2 UK CEO Ronan Dunne had to issue an apology for the poor quality of O2s network coverage in London last year, with the problems attributed to O2s launch of the iPhone, and the data explosion that followed. 
Flat-rate data plans were introduced to stimulate data usage at a time when the idea of using data services on your mobile was a new experience for most people, and a poor one for the few early adopters. Fast forward a couple of years, and we have an explosion in smartphone ownership and, consequently, data usage, with social networking sites driving much of the traffic. So the networks are getting the data traffic they wanted, they just arent making as much money out of it as they would like to. On top of this, they are having to spend money to upgrade their networks in order to cope. O2 has just completed an upgrade of its London base stations, carried out by Nokia Siemens Networks.
So if youve just signed up to an 18- or 24-month unlimited data plan, enjoy it while you can. Because chances are, it could well be your last.
ps
Big thanks to Emma Potter at Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) for the loan of a desk and PC to file this story en route to an event.
