O2 launched on 1 January 1985 as Cellnet — one of the UK's original two mobile networks. After rebranding in 2002 and Telefónica's £17.7B acquisition in 2006, O2 now operates as part of Virgin Media O2 — a £31B 50/50 JV between Telefónica and Liberty Global. On 26 February 2026, O2 became Europe's first operator to launch direct-to-device satellite mobile via SpaceX Starlink, extending UK landmass coverage from 89% to 95%.
🛰️ O2 Satellite (Feb 2026)
Europe's first direct-to-device satellite mobile — launched 26 February 2026.
- Extends UK landmass coverage from 89% to 95%
- £3/month bolt-on; free for O2 Ultimate plan
- Compatible: Samsung Galaxy S25/S26; iPhone (May 2026)
- Covers mountains, coastlines, remote areas
- SMS, text-to-999, limited data initially
💰 O2 Plans (2025–26)
All O2 plans include 5G and EU roaming free.
- Entry from ~£8/month for 40GB 5G
- ~£15/month 100GB; ~£20/month 250GB; ~£28/month Unlimited
- All plans: EU roaming free (49 destinations)
- Plus Plans: 75 countries (USA, Canada, Australia, NZ)
- Volt: Virgin Media customers get doubled data free
✨ O2 Priority Rewards
Free loyalty programme — 8M+ rewards delivered in 2025.
- Free £1 Greggs hot drink or treat weekly
- 4 Vue cinema tickets for £18/month
- Up to £150 off lastminute.com per month
- 48-hour presale to UK concerts and events
- O2 Arena VIP perks including queue bypass
🌍 O2 Roaming 2026
O2 is the only major UK MNO not to reintroduce EU charges.
- All standard plans: 49 EU destinations free (25GB fair use)
- Plus Plans: 75 countries including USA, Canada, Mexico
- PAYG: free EU roaming up to 25GB + data rollover
- Travel Bolt On: £7/day outside included zones
- Ofcom £100/month roaming cap without consent
📊 O2 Independent Performance
From Opensignal, umlaut, and Uswitch — not O2 marketing.
- Uswitch Best Coverage Award 2026
- Opensignal Jan 2026: 5G availability 57% (2nd behind EE)
- umlaut 2026: VMO2 768/1000 (+39 pts YoY — biggest UK improvement
- O2 5G+ Standalone reaches 85%+ of UK population
- 500+ UK towns with O2 5G deployment
📋 O2 Annual Price Rise 2026
Under Ofcom's Jan 2025 rule, exact rise stated at sign-up.
- Airtime Plans: +£2.50/month each April
- Data-only/smartwatch plans: +£0.75/month
- Essential Plan (benefit recipients): frozen
- Out-of-bundle charges: +5% annually
- 30-day exit window if rise was undisclosed
🤝 Giffgaff & Sky Mobile (O2)
Two popular MVNOs on O2's identical infrastructure.
- Giffgaff: from £6/month; no contracts; 5GB EU roaming
- Sky Mobile: from £6/month; 3-year data Piggybank rollover
- Tesco Mobile also on O2 — 5M+ customers
- Same O2 4G/5G towers
- Typical saving vs O2 direct: £5–£15/month
🔷 O2 eSIM
O2 eSIM activation — no physical card needed.
- iPhone XS+; Samsung Galaxy S20+; Google Pixel 3+
- Activate via QR code or My O2 app
- Dual eSIM: two numbers on one phone (iPhone 13+)
- Available on Pay Monthly plans
- Settings → Cellular → Add Cellular Plan (iPhone)
