Our products and services

We continue to introduce a range of attractive new handsets and an enhanced O2 Active portal over our 3G network. The move builds on our leadership in non-voice services and unique O2 branded handsets.

New and original content
Consumers who purchase 3G devices from us enjoy a wider range of new and original content, including: music and events from Auschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) - one of the world's leading providers of live entertainment, including major music acts ; film from Warner Bros Online (previews, behind the scenes and interviews); lifestyle from titles such as GQ, FHM and Glamour; the latest music videos and tracks from major recording artists and MTV; news from ITN; and sports, including Formula 1 with BMW-Sauber, England Rugby and Arsenal Football. They will also benefit from faster download speeds and video calling. The launch also marks the arrival of a new and improved version of the innovative O2 Active portal, which has been re-designed to take advantage of richer, faster, more capable UMTS-based features.

Own branded devices
To mark the introduction of our UMTS service for consumers, we were the first to launch an own-branded 3G handset in the UK - the competitively priced O2 X4. Based on the highly successful design principles of our existing X-range of handsets, which includes the popular O2 Xda II®, the O2 X4 sports a sleek clamshell design with a high-quality 262,000-colour main screen display. The O2 X4 is equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera with an 8x zoom lens and advanced "flash mechanic"; it also includes an MP3 music player, video downloading and streaming capabilities, 10Mb of phone memory and 64Mb of additional capacity via a removable memory card.

In addition to the O2 X4, we will offer 3G customers a range of handsets from leading manufacturers, including the Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and the Sony Erickson. This portfolio of devices is being expanded through existing handset procurement channels and the NTT DoCoMo partnership.

O2 - the 'home of text'
O2 leads in the area of mobile messaging. It is the 'home of text' with its customers sending more than 18 billion text messages during 2005 and is the leading provider in the UK by share of volume at around 40%. Last year, O2 for example, carried one billion texts per month its networks in the UK, Germany and Ireland. And against many predictions, texting is still on the up - O2 recently announced that SMS volume had increased 32% over the last year to 5.05 billion for the three months to December 2005.

The total number of multimedia messages sent across O2's businesses in the UK, Germany and Ireland continues to climb. More than 65% of the O2 customer base in these countries now has an MMS capable device up from approximately 48% at December 04. In addition, O2 holds a leading position in Europe for its email-on-the-move solution - BlackBerry - with more than 165,000 devices now sold.

The Xda from O2 was the world's first combined colour PDA and mobile handset. O2 is continually adding new devices to the Xda range. The Xda family just gets more powerful and feature packed with the latest range of handsets including the Xda Orbit 2 and the Xda Stellar.

Music over mobile
As previously indicated, O2 is strong in mobile music. In November 2003, O2 launched Europe's first mobile 'over the air' music download service. Today, O2's music service is made up of many different offers including over the air downloads, ringtones, music video clips, sound-bytes, music micro-sites, ticketing and events (such as concerts streamed live over 3G).  O2's strategy is to pursue all services which are attractive to its target markets.  In October 2005, O2 launched a new music service in Germany in partnership with Nokia/Loudeye, which enables music downloads to both mobile and PC. That service is now being launched in the UK along with a new visual radio service, which enables customers to download ringtones of songs they hear on the radio as well as receive information updates from that broadcasting station.

O2 surf@home
In Germany we offer an innovative, high-speed product, called O2 surf@home, a service that directly complements O2 Genion. Using this innovative 3G data service, O2 customers are able to connect to the internet from their homes at fixed line rates. The combination of O2 Genion with O2 surf@home will enable complete fixed line substitution and increase customer value and loyalty.

IPTV
In the Czech Republic we offer O2 TV, a new service currently available to more than 1 million fixed lines in Prague, Brno, and many other cities. Using the Imagenio platform developed by Telefónica, customers can access hundreds of movies, and a wide selection of TV channels and radio stations, as well as Videotéka (the Library), a virtual video rental shop and TV Archiv (TV Archive) which enables customers to watch films, serials, or sports broadcasts that they have missed, for up to seven days. There are two basic programme packages, along with six additional programme offers. Launched on 1 September, by late October O2 TV had gained 5,000 customers.

DSL and broadband
The enlarged Telefónica Europe Group is helping O2 towards its push to moving beyond mobile into fixed broadband and converged services.

We are already seeing evidence of this such as the launch of DSL in Germany.  Here, O2 is the only provider of integrated communication services in Germany to offer mobile, fixed voice and fixed internet services. O2 DSL customers get one monthly bill, backed by a single customer service number and competitive monthly charges. Customers can choose from three different DSL packages and will receive a discount if they are also a mobile contract customer of O2.

O2 is also providing a number of converged fixed / mobile offers in the Czech Republic and, O2's recent acquisition of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider, coupled with our partnership with Telefónica, will help speed up this shift and enable us to draw on their considerable strengths whilst maintaining in-country market needs and dynamics.

On 9 July Telefónica O2 Ireland launched its O2 Broadband service, offering wireless broadband at speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, utilising HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology, which currently covers 75% of the population.

Telefónica O2 Ireland launch napster mobile
In December 2006, Telefónica O2 Ireland became the first mobile operator in Europe to offer Napster Mobile. The service allows customers to search, browse, preview and purchase content from Napster’s music catalogue of over two million songs. The service also features a “recommendation engine” which makes suggestions based on each customer’s personal taste in music.