O2 offers free internet tethering

O2

O2 is giving its users free internet tethering, enabling customers to get better connectivity on the move.

Users signing up for 500MB of data or more on Pay Monthly contracts will now be able to use their handset as a modem for their laptops at no extra charge.

The announcement came as part of a new tariff structure at the company, which claimed to focus on "making them simple and making them flexible."

After picking a handset, customers choose the contract length. O2 is now allowing existing customers to take out just a 12 month contract, although new customers will be stuck with either an 18 or 24 month deal. Customers can also take advantage of inclusive tethering on SIM-only contracts.

"We've listened to what our most loyal customers have told us and launched shorter, 12 month contracts (for our existing customers), so they can benefit from the latest handsets even earlier than before," read a blog from O2.

Users can choose from 50 to 1,200 inclusive minutes, either 250, 500 or unlimited texts and one of three data plans The Basics' 100MB, The All Rounder' 500MB or The Works' 1GB.

A chart on their website guides users to the prices.

Existing customers can swap over to the new tariffs but only if the price tag is the same or higher. For those wanting to move to a lower priced option, they will have to wait until they get halfway through their current contract to change.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.