News about O2’s Home Broadband and Home Phone Service

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

We have reached agreement with Sky for them to acquire our consumer Home Broadband and Home Phone business.

For more information on what this means, read more here: http://o2lin.kr/Z1CRJT

If you’d like to read our press release, it’s here: http://o2lin.kr/Z1zF10

O2 Social Media Team

[Anonymous]

WELL SAID and seconded !

[Anonymous]

What I find puzzling about this sale is that O2 wants to retain and develop its mobile business, yet will doubtless lose many loyal customers who will transfer all their accounts elsewhere in order to get the £5 mobile discount (same as O2) and make online account management easier. In my experience there are only 2 'good' mobile operators out there - O2 and Orange (EE) and since I don't want Murdoch's cronies at Sky there is only one choice!

[perksie]

You have to look at the numbers here, O2 did have 650K broadband users which has dropped to about 500K in the last two years, possibly due to not going the fibre path.

Their mobile customers total over 22M and growing quickly, I suspect the £200M from Sky will help with the £1M a day they are spending on the network which with a guaranteed coverage of 98% of the population by 2015 for 2G, 3G and 4G could make them the best in the UK.

[Anonymous]

With, say, an average spend of £45 per month x 500,000 users = £270m each year. It's still more than petty cash!

[perksie]

Don't you think they have taken all that into account?

O2 will do far better with the mobile network, broadband was never going to be a winner with that number of customers.

They missed their chance by their lack of advertising to build it up before the download limits were brought in in 2010.

[Anonymous]

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@perksie wrote:

You have to look at the numbers here, O2 did have 650K broadband users which has dropped to about 500K in the last two years, possibly due to not going the fibre path.

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Ofcourse we have to look at the numbers. This is a business decision, they are not being personal though some people seem to think they are.

However I think part of the problem is the lack of communication and the mixed messages we are getting when people ask for their MAC. This is getting a few people riled up.

We can not blame those staff memebers trying to give us info as they can only tell us what they know as fact and what they are allowed to tell us, speculation from them would not be a good thing. What they are not allowed to tell us, if there is such information in this area, is beyond their control. Management needs to look into it and change their minds here as specualtion and rumour is bad publicity and word of mouth is the best tool for free publicity, it can also cause problems if people panic.

[Paultrust]

I had occasion to phone the O2 service centre last evening it brought it home that this proposed deal has far wider implications than for us the customers. It is striking to realise just how this will affect the wonderful staff at O2 broadband who always are pleased to deal with our difficulties. They clearly know that Sky will not be interested in them and contract what they do to some distant call centre. It is time for the people making the decisions to see Sky is not the answer Say No To Sky and yes to keeping O2 just as it is. 

[perksie]

I guess that's why nothing was given out until the deal was agreed.

The O2 staff members on here have said they work across all services so their jobs should be safe.

[Anonymous]

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@Paultrust wrote:

I had occasion to phone the O2 service centre last evening it brought it home that this proposed deal has far wider implications than for us the customers. It is striking to realise just how this will affect the wonderful staff at O2 broadband who always are pleased to deal with our difficulties. They clearly know that Sky will not be interested in them and contract what they do to some distant call centre. It is time for the people making the decisions to see Sky is not the answer Say No To Sky and yes to keeping O2 just as it is. 

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O2 have said that people will not lose their jobs.

I am personally unhappy about the Sky deal - but I can say that O2 are good to their employees and so I take their word for it when they say that the staff are all safe. But you're right - the Broadband staff are fantastic.

[Anonymous]

I phoned yesterday and got my MAC key, chap offered me the 12 month deal but I declined on the basis of their customer services (or lack of it) and refusal to reply to phone calls and emails.

I am about to part company with sky tv and no wish to join their phone/bb service.

I have been happy with O2 for the LL and BB service but can understand the whole picture.

I have no intentions of moving the mobiles from O2 as they offer the service I want at a price I consider fair and in locations I choose to go and IMO are a better company to deal with than the other mobile operators I have experienced