O2 3G / GPRS Reviews

Good Points: I run a business which requires 4 air cards, so decided to opt for the O2 Sierra Wireless 875U USB Data card, and the O2 Sierra Wireless Aircard 850, and also, which I hope to mention in other reviews, the Orange Sierra Aircard 850 from the orange website, and the Vodaphone 3G Data Card from the airtimemanager.co.uk website which for some reason is far cheaper than from Vodaphone. Both O2 cards worked perfect, with the USB card also being ideal for my own home PC when my normal dial up broadband decides to pack in (which is regular when it rains - don't ask!). Great UK coverage from O2, but not as good as Orange.

Bad Points: Only one bad point, and that is that 02 charge for the Aircards £120, at this moment in time, JUNE 2007, but other than that no problems at all.

General comments: From a performance point of view, O2 are great, the Sierra Wireless Aircard 850 did the job perfect in laptops, and was easy to set up, it came with a new sim card specific for the card. The Sierra Wireless 875U USB card / add-on was far more versatile, as it even works with non laptop PCs, when the situation arises. In each case I found the DATA MAX 1024 UNLIMITED tariff at £45 per month + VAT a must, as the other tariffs from O2 are OK, but you dare not go over your set limit, otherwise you are talking of £1 per extra MB, which is crazy, especially with all the junk emails I end up with. So the only bad point with the 02 data cards, is they are not FREE. I feel sure that 02 will start to be competitive and start giving them free, the same as Orange and Vodaphone.

I just upgraded my GPRS card to the O2 GPRS card and I'll be damned if it isn't the same feel as my home broadband. Fantastic quality. Bit concerned that the speed is so fast I will go over my O2 MAX limit and get a very hefty bill.