O2 turned 16 today :-D

[Chris_K]

You only turn sweet-sixteen once. To celebrate us blowing out another candle on the cake, check out sixteen O2 facts. If you spot any you didn’t know about, or want to ask us about, just let us know in the comments below. 

1. 02.02.02
That’s our favourite date, not just because it looks awesome but it’s actually our birthday. Yep, we’re 16 today! We’ve shared some amazing moments with our customers over the years and there’s certainly a lot more to come.

2. O2 Refresh
What’s better than saving money? Our ground-breaking O2 Refresh tariff has transformed the way people buy mobile phones and lets you clearly see what you’re paying for by separating the device plan and airtime plan.  On O2 Refresh you can change devices whenever you want (once you’ve paid off your device plan) but, importantly, you’re not being charged for a phone you’ve already paid for #whypaymore

3. O2 NSPCC
We’re proud to partner with the NSPCC to give parents the tools, support and information they need to help their children explore the internet safely. Parents can get free help and advice from The O2 & NSPCC Child Safety Helpline (0808 800 5002) or online here: https://www.o2.co.uk/help/nspcc

4. O2 and the “Invincibles”
Eddie Jones’ mighty England Rugby team kick off their Six Nations campaign this weekend as they look to become the first nation to win the trophy three times in a row. To follow that up, Simon Middleton and the Red Roses are also looking to become back-to-back Grand Slam Six Nations champions for the first time.  We’ve shared some amazing moments with England rugby over the years and we’re excited to continue supporting both teams.

5. O2 and the iPhone
Back in the winter of 2007, the iPhone took the world by storm. We were so proud to be the only UK network to launch the iPhone, making us the only network in the UK to have had every iPhone from launch.

6. The O2
Last year we celebrated our 10^th anniversary sponsoring The O2 in London. The iconic landmark has transformed into the world’s most successful music and entertainment venue with some incredible acts taking the stage over the years.

7. O2 Academy Venues
Talking about music, we’ve had some epic shows and gigs since we launched the O2 Academy Venues across the UK in 2008. Make sure to let us know when you’re at an Academy gig by using the hashtag: #FollowTheRabbit.

8. OnePlus and O2
There’s a new player in town completely disrupting the global handset market and we’re super proud to be the exclusive UK network for OnePlus. We do love an exclusive for our customers.

9. O2 Sports
Back in 2012, we started  giving our customers the opportunity to have early access to some of the most anticipated sporting events in the UK, including boxing, rugby, tennis and UFC.

10. O2 on Social Media
We love social media at O2. We’re everywhere and we have so much fun sharing and interacting with our customers. If you haven’t already, make sure you follow us to keep up-to-date with our latest news, competitions or just an unforgettable moment.        

11. 10 Years at the O2
Well, it’s actually 11 now but last year we celebrated our 10^th anniversary in style with a whole host of events and gigs for our customers.Some amazing artists have taken the stage at The O2, including Beyoncé, Bieber and Bublé – and here’s to many more years and amazing memories at The O2.

12. O2 Wifi
7 years ago we launched our free Wifi network for everyone. O2 Wifi has over 15,000 hotspots across the UK  – including on The Coca-Cola London Eye.

13. Priority
Priority is our way of saying thanks to our customers.  From once-in-a-lifetime experiences, exclusive deals and 48 hours early access to see your favourite bands, it’s all possible on Priority.

14. #O24G
Five years ago, we launched our 4G network and it continues to go from (signal) strength to strength… Next up, 5G!

15. O2 Adverts
If you could have anyone narrating your life it would have to be Sean Bean, right? The King of the North’s *deceased* Father/Uncle/ we don’t want any GoT spoilers complaints… let’s go with all round legend, has narrated the majority of our ads over the years.  Here’s to Sean Bean!

16. Last but not least…
You!! Whether you’re a customer who’s still with us, just joined us, or even left us (we hope you come back soon), you have been part of the past 16 years and we couldn’t have done it without you! O2. More for you.

[Skyhawk1010]

O2 was also Cellnet before that and was a joint venture between British Telecom and Securicor aka Telecom Securicor Radio Ltd. 

Personally I preferred the name Cellnet and all the original graphics, PR, adverts etc which concentrated on ‘The BIG Network’ which back in the analogue TACS/ETACS days was incredible...but  forget anything other than calls and the cost of the calls were to say the least pricey

Also back then, neither Vodafone nor Cellnet could sell directly to the public, they had to sell via the dreaded ‘Service Provider’ . But when Orange one one2one (now EE owned by BT!!!!) expanded their networks the ban was finally lifted. Both Cellnet and Vodafone went on a mad rampage buying up many service providers and then established High St names like Astec, Martin Dawes, Talkland, Peoples Phones etc suddenly disappeared. 

We have all got it an awful lot better now than we had it back then.

[darrengf]

Happy sweet 16th Birthday O2. 

Your nearlly all all grown up now 😀. But still mischievous sometimes lol