Pricing

O2’s pricing strategies continue to be competitive and responsive to the aggressive competition that exists in a mass market that is well served by many businesses.

During the year we found more ways to bring affordable mobile services to a market of diverse users and customers.

Our pricing practices are monitored by national regulators, such as Ofcom in the UK, Bundesnetzagentur in Germany and ComReg in Ireland.

The Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) is the UK industry’s arbitration service. Complaints go to Otelo when consumers and providers reach deadlock over a dispute. Otelo may also intervene if a customer complaint has been ignored or unresolved after 12 weeks. O2 is a member of this scheme, which is approved by Ofcom.

We have also introduced increased customer support, pricing deals and new ways to reward customer loyalty during 2005/06.

In Ireland, we provided details on all our personal tariff options to ComReg’s new interactive website.  The site aims to help consumers compare the cost of personal price plans across all operators in Ireland.

During the year, O2 Ireland launched an interactive guide on its website to help customers choose the most suitable price plan for their mobile usage. In March 2006, O2 Ireland also introduced 1 cent calls at weekends for Speak easy customers when calling other O2 numbers. In addition we launched a Business Unlimited offer in April 2006 allowing O2 business customers to call other O2 numbers for free. 

Our overall aim is to give the best customer experience. Our research shows that this is partly influenced by consumers’ willingness to look for the best deals.  In Ireland, all employees are undergoing training to make sure they understand their role in providing the best service they can.