O2 drops hidden iPhone restrictions

Only four days to go now - and good news from O2 about it removing the fair usage clause...

The UK launch of the Apple iPhone is now just four days away. The tariffs were announced a while back, but now O2 - the exclusive Apple iPhone network operator in the UK - has said it will scrap the planned fair usage clause for the device.

This is great news if you're likely to use your Apple iPhone to do lots of music downloading or web surfing on the go. It seems like, for once, 'unlimited' will actually mean that, without any data caps on your usage.

'Unlimited' really is unlimited

O2 had planned to cap its 'unlimited' data usage plan at 200MB of data per month. But it now says that potential Apple iPhone customers would be uncomfortable with having a limit.

''Customers find 'unlimited with limits' confusing, plus most people don't speak in megabits or understand what they equate to," O2 UK chief executive Matthew Key told the Daily Telegraph.

''So we've taken the decision to remove the fair usage cap so that 'unlimited' really does mean 'unlimited' - this is a market first."

O2 will stick to its unlimited mobile data services plan, working with The Cloud to provide free Wi-Fi for Apple iPhone users. It hopes that customers will make much greater use of the web with their mobiles. Data accessed must be for personal use only, and the handset must not be used as a modem.