O2 drops 3G dongle price, Virgin Mobile drops web rates

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The cost of accessing the web on the go is dropping as O2 and Virgin reveals new deals.

o2 dongle

O2 has cut the price of its USB mobile broadband dongle to just 29.99 for pay as you go users, making it the lowest cost pre-pay dongle currently available in the UK.

O2 offers mobile broadband for 2 a day, with a 500MB data cap, along with access to 6,000 Wi-Fi hotspots.

T-Mobile was the first to introduce a 2 a day pay-as-you-go service, but currently charges 49.99 for its dongle.

"Our O2 Mobile Broadband Pay & Go will appeal to those customers who want to [use] the internet without the need to commit to a long term contract. Our younger customers want to live online and can do so at affordable prices," said O2's marketing director Peter Rampling.

Rival network Virgin Mobile has today announced that from 8 December it will offer web access from its mobile handsets for just 30p a day. This is subject to a fair use policy of 25MB and from within the UK only. It does not include using the phone as a modem.

O2's fixed-line broadband arm Be has also announced it is cutting monthly fixed line prices by more than the 2.5 per cent VAT decrease. The company said its up to 8Mb/sec package would drop from 14 to 13.50, its 24Mb/sec package from 18 to 17.50 and its Pro package from 22 to 21.50.

Benny Har-Even
Benny Har-Even

Benny Har-Even is a twenty-year stalwart of technology journalism who is passionate about all areas of the industry, but telecoms and mobile and home entertainment are among his chief interests. He has written for many of the leading tech publications in the UK, such as PC Pro and Wired, and previously held the position of technology editor at ITPro before regularly contributing as a freelancer.

Known affectionately as a ‘geek’ to his friends, his passion has seen him land opportunities to speak about technology on BBC television broadcasts, as well as a number of speaking engagements at industry events.