We want to let you know about a new cost control service, which will allow you manage data roaming amongst your staff.

When abroad for business, your staff may use the internet on their handset, smartphone or their mobile broadband. This is referred to as data roaming.

We’ve introduced a data roaming cap. What this means is that each mobile phone user within your business can use data while roaming, up to a maximum of €50 (ex vat) per month. If they go over this amount, their data service will be disallowed until the next billing month. It will then reset itself to €50 again.

How do I get the Data Roaming Cap?

If your staff are not signed up to a Data roaming bundle, the Cap will be applied to all mobiles & mobile broadband connections from 1st July 2010.

Can I opt out of the Data Roaming Cap?

• Of course you can. You can opt out all the mobiles in your business, by contacting your O2 Account Manager.

• Alternatively, you can send this note to all mobile users who roam, and advise them to opt out directly from the service, before they travel. They can do this now, by sending a free text to 50202 with the keyword REMCAP from their mobile. This will ensure a better roaming experience next time they travel.

Important : If your staff roam regularly and their individual internet usage sometimes exceeds €50, then the Data Roaming Cap may affect their data roaming experience. We would recommend calling your O2 Account Manager to opt out of the data roaming cap in this instance as we will have no way of immediately lifting the bar.

For more on Data Roaming Cap and the price plan it relates to, see www.o2.ie/eudatacap1

Bitbuzz, Ireland's leading Wi-Fi service provider, has teamed up with Telefónica O2 Ireland to create a unique new iPhone application, which allows iPhone users to find their nearest Wi-Fi hotspot. The application, which is a first for Ireland, will guide users to the nearest Bitbuzz hotspot based on their current location. O2 iPhone customers already receive free access to all Bitbuzz Wi-Fi hotspots in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The application, which is free to download and has been approved by Apple, is now available in the Apple iTunes Store. Bitbuzz currently has over 190 Hotspots around Ireland, and will provide users with live updates as and when new hotspots go live. The success of the new application is underpinned by the fact that is it already a Top 10 free application in the Apple iTunes store in Ireland.

Shane Deasy, Managing Director, Bitbuzz, commented: "This is an extremely useful and time saving application. iPhone users will no longer have to roam the streets looking for shops with the Wi-Fi symbol on the door. With one tap of their iPhone screen the new application will show them the way to our reliable service. The development of the application underscores the importance of the iPhone and other mobile devices to our network, as a growing percent of our usage comes from these devices."

David Hodgers, Head of Products & Services, Telefónica O2 Ireland, commented: "We are delighted to partner with Bitbuzz again in bringing this new application to our customers. By making it easier to locate Bitbuzz Wi-Fi hotspots, which are free to use for our iPhone customers, it will add to their already great iPhone experience".

Thursday 30th July 2009 - Telefónica O2 Ireland today issued its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Q2 period, from 1 April 2009 to 30 June 2009.

Telefónica O2 Ireland - Q1 Summary:

• O2's total customer base at the end of June 2009 was 1.717 million, up 1.7% compared to the same period last year, and up by 6,093 customers when compared with Q1 2009 (1.711million).
• The postpay / contract market continued to deliver growth for O2 with 11,444 net new customers in Q2 2009, to achieve a total postpay customer base of 662,604. For the first time, this makes O2 the number one operator in the postpay mobile market in Ireland. The prepay base declined by 5,351 customers in the same period, a significant improvement on Q1 (which saw the prepay base decline by 25,202).
• There was a 4.4% rise in the number of text messages sent in the quarter, increasing from 750 million text messages in Q1 2009 to 782 million in Q2 2009. Year on year there was a 44.8% increase in text usage, up from 540 million in Q2 2008.
• Service revenue rose in the quarter, up to €211 million from €210 million in Q1 2009.
• Data revenue as a percentage of overall service revenue grew during the quarter, driven by growth in non-SMS revenues which now account for 10.7% of overall service revenues. A key driver of this growth was mobile broadband, with customer numbers at almost 112,000 to date.
• Monthly average blended ARPU for the quarter was €39.76, up 1.1% from €39.34 in Q1 but down 7.9% from €43.19 for the same period last year.
• For the quarter, monthly average ARPU for postpay customers was €62.51, down 3.1% from €64.51 in Q1 and down 15.3% from €73.79 for the same period last year. Monthly average ARPU for prepay customers was €25.56, up 5.7% from €24.19 in Q1 but down 4.9% from €26.89 for the same period last year.
• Average monthly minutes of use increased in the quarter from 224 to 228.

Commenting, Paul Whelan, Chief Financial Officer, Telefónica O2 Ireland, said: "In what continues to be an extremely challenging market, O2 made solid progress in the second quarter of 2009, increasing customer numbers particularly in postpay, which includes mobile broadband. At the end of June, the total postpay customer base reached 662,604 which saw O2 becoming the number one operator in the postpay mobile market in Ireland for the first time. We have achieved this by continuing to meet the changing needs of our customers and their requirements for greater flexibility and control, through value for money tariffs and our innovative products and services. iPhone has proved to be hugely popular with our customers and in line with our strategy to bring our customers the very best innovations in mobile communications we recently announced that O2 will be the exclusive carrier of the much anticipated Palm Pre when it launches later this year. Mobile broadband also continues to drive growth, with almost 112,000 customers signed up to date".

"Looking ahead, we expect tough trading conditions for the remainder of the year. While service revenues increased marginally in the second quarter of 2009, we will continue to maintain our emphasis on cost management and improving cash flow performance within our business".

On Tuesday of this week, O2 launched a new "try before you buy" initiative for potential mobile broadband customers, enabling them to borrow a broadband modem to trial for three days without the need to sign up to a contract. If customers like the service, they can sign up after the three day trial period. If they don't they can simply return the modem to O2.

O2 is part of Telefónica S.A, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world.

O2 has announced the launch of 'BlackBerry Managed Service' (BMS) in Ireland. BMS offers customers a broader range of BlackBerry support, maintenance and consultative services, enabling them to manage IT support costs more effectively whilst maximising the benefits of BlackBerry.

BMS is a brand new service for O2's Blackberry customers in Ireland. Companies can now outsource the complete end to end management of their BlackBerry service environment to O2, receiving 24/7 global support, infrastructure monitoring, regular service checks, and advice from certified BlackBerry consultants. With BMS customers are free to focus on their core competencies and get the benefit of a single point of contact, a single bill and more predictable costs.

Ronan Whelan, Head of Enterprise & Corporate, Telefonica O2 Ireland, said "We are confident that this service will become indispensible for BlackBerry customers at a time when cost control is a key concern for businesses. With Blackberry Managed Service, companies will always have full back-up support through a dedicated helpdesk and a monitoring service which will respond to any disruptions to service. The introduction of this new service is a welcome enhancement of O2's portfolio of great value business offerings".

O2 has also launched the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) software Version 5.0, which is now available in Ireland. It is the next generation of Research in Motion's (RIM's) secure, push-based server software for business mobility. Version 5.0 supports advanced IT administration features and smartphone controls that help improve the productivity of mobile workers.

Irish Independent (Supplement), page 20

WHEN Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduced the third iteration of the iPhone, the 3G S, he labelled it "the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet". However, this was the least of the news; with a brand-new 3-megapixel autofocus camera, videorecording and the ability to send multimedia text messages plus cut-and-paste text, iPhone fans have finally (mostly) got what they were looking for.

The new OS 3.0, which Apple says is the world's most advanced mobile operating system (OS), has over 100 new features, including Spotlight search, landscape keyboard and hands-free voice control.

The actual iPhone 3G S itself is on average up to twice as fast as its predecessor, making for quicker loading of webpages and faster launching of apps.
The autofocus camera has a feature similar to the LG Renoir – 'tap to focus' – which means that touching the screen where you see your subject will automatically adjust for optimal focus and exposure.

Video-recording also comes with in-phone editing abilities and the option to upload video clips to YouTube or MobileMe with one tap, or email or MMS them if you wish.
Voice control has some command recognition; this is a nice twist as you can activate the iTunes Genius recommendation feature by saying 'Play more songs like this' or ask your iPhone to pause, play the next song or shuffle. You can even query what song is currently playing.

One of the most interesting features of the iPhone 3.0 software has got to be the new Find My iPhone security feature. Working with your laptop or desktop through MobileMe, you can use the feature to find out where your iPhone is on a map, and if it is lost or has been stolen you have the ability to send a message that will appear onscreen (for example, "This phone has been locked. Please return for reward'), and, best of all, if the blasted thief appears to be uncooperative, you can remotely erase all your private data and content with Remote Wipe.

If you have simply misplaced your iPhone while on silent, using the Find My iPhone feature you can 'ask' your iPhone to play a sound anyway.

The iPhone 3G S is available from 26 June with prices starting at 679, while the OS 3.0 software became available on 17 June as a free software update via iTunes 8.2 or later for all iPhone customers. iPod touch customers will be required to purchase a software update for EUR7.99 (inc VAT).

There is also a new Tom-Tom application coming soon to the App Store, plus a car kit especially for the 3G iPhone – the independent sat nav device will soon be redundant for Apple fans.

TomTom's co-founder and CTO Peter-Frans Pauwels demoed the firm's iPhone software in conjunction with a secure docking car kit for hands-free calling and in-car charging.
The software itself will be an Apple version of TomTom's existing turn-by-turn navigation software, including IQ Routes and all the latest maps from Tele Atlas.

While there is no pricing or release date set as yet for either the application or car kit, these will be announced ahead of the launch later this summer.

Apple's fastest, most powerful iPhone yet

Tuesday the 2nd June, O2 and Samsung today announced a new promotion in aid of Irish Autism Action (IAA) at Bewley’s Café, Grafton Street. For the month of June €10 will be donated to the IAA from each Samsung Tocco handset purchased in any O2 Store. The funds raised by this promotion will go towards helping schools provide vital therapies and tuition for children with Autism.

O2 Mobile Broadband customer numbers hit 100,000

Dublin - Monday 30th March 2009: New research* commissioned by O2 has highlighted a major uptake of mobile broadband amongst small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The announcement comes as the number of customers using O2's mobile broadband service has reached the 100,000 milestone.

According to the research carried out on behalf of O2 by TNS mrbi, the number of senior SME managers using mobile broadband has jumped from 12% in last year's survey to over a third at 34%.

O2's mobile broadband operates on HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology which has 89% population coverage on O2's network, and allows customers to wirelessly surf the internet whether they are at home, at work, or out and about. In 2008 O2 became the first mobile broadband provider in Ireland to also roll out a high speed upload service.

Commenting, Jude Lynch, Business Sales Director - Telefónica O2 Ireland, said, "Our research clearly suggests that more and more Irish SMEs are seeing the benefits that mobile broadband can offer them in terms of convenience, productivity, cost effectiveness and control. This is mirrored in the growing popularity in general of mobile broadband which continues to increase its share of the broadband market in Ireland".

According to Comreg*, mobile broadband continues to show strong signs of growth. In the 12 months to December 2008 mobile broadband subscriptions increased by 142%.
O2 Mobile Broadband is currently available on a range of different price plans. A 30 day contract is available for €30 per month with a 5GB data allowance, specifically targeting business and consumer users who do not wish to commit themselves to a longer term agreement to avail of mobile broadband. A 12 month contract costs €25 per month with a 7.5GB data allowance, while an 18 month contract costs €19.99 per month with 10GB data allowance. Price inclusive of VAT.

* ComReg Quarterly Report for the Irish Communications Market for Q4 2008

• Study confirms increased use of mobile broadband by SMEs
  
• O2 launches new bundled laptop / mobile broadband offer for SMEs

Dublin, April 14, 2009 - Over a fifth (22%) of senior managers in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland expect to increase teleworking from home over the next 12 months according to research carried out for O2 Ireland by TNS mrbi.

Already almost half (45%) of senior executives in small and medium sized businesses telework from home at least one day a month. This shows a significant increase from 2004 when 25% teleworked from home. 28% now work from home at least four days a month. The study surveyed over 300 senior managers in businesses nationwide employing between 1 and 250 people.

According to the research, 15% work from home to catch up on work or meet deadlines. 12% telework to concentrate without distraction on major projects such as new business proposals or writing reports.

The survey confirms a significant increase in use of mobile broadband amongst SME senior managers with the numbers using Mobile Broadband jumping from 12% in last year's survey to over a third (34%) today.

O2 today also announced a new partnership with Hewlett Packard (HP) in Ireland which will enable it to provide laptops bundled with mobile broadband from just €50 per month. The new service will initially be made available to O2's existing SME customer base giving them a convenient, one stop shop solution for their telecoms and IT service needs.

Existing SME customers can choose from a range of different price plans and can opt to pay upfront for the service or over a 12 or 24 month period. O2's flexible payment options give SMEs the ability to control their costs to best suit their business needs.

Commenting, Jude Lynch, Business Sales Director - Telefónica O2 Ireland said, "Our research clearly suggests that more and more Irish SMEs are seeing the benefits that mobile broadband can offer them in terms of convenience, productivity, cost effectiveness and control. We also know from our own customer insights that SMEs are looking for convenient, one stop shop solutions for telecoms and IT services. The new bundled laptop / mobile broadband product will give our existing SME customers the option to avail of just that".

On the 19th February O2 Ireland launched their In Flight roaming solution.  They will be the first Mobile Operator in the Irish market that supports an In Flight roaming solution. This means enable O2 customers to use their phones whilst travelling by air.

Coverage will be limited to a small number of airlines in 2009, but as this is a new market for the Mobile Industry, growth is predicted.

As this is a new commercial service in its infancy, it is progressively being rolled out with the airlines, by our roaming partner (On Air).

The first European airline to launch commercially in that we will begin to see usage from our customers is RyanAir. They will initially have coverage on 25 of their fleet operating out of Dublin and UK airports on European routes.

Please find below the link to page on o2.ie which provides more information about the service and the rates involved.

• www.o2.ie/inflight

It feels as though RIM has brought a flurry of new BlackBerry devices onto the market in the past few months, and while the Storm, Pearl Flip and original Pearl have obvious features that mark them out as a must buy/must avoid - depending on your requirements - the Curve 8900 will bring conflicting feelings because it is not too unlike the brilliant and beautiful Bold.

• Click here to read the full review on SiliconRepublic.com

German airline Lufthansa has launched a boarding pass that works off your mobile phone. Many flights from Germany including those to Dublin allow passengers to enjoy a completely paperless journey including the use of a boarding pass on your mobile phone. Lufthansa follows other airlines such as Air France KLM and SAS of Scandinavia with launching the check in service using your mobile phone.

• Visit the Lufthansa web site for more information of routes and availability

US President Barack Obama has been allowed by the US Secret Service to keep his Blackberry 8700 so long as he uses it for personal use. The new US President is known to always keep his trusted Blackberry by his side and was a regular companion in the recent US Presidential elections.

• Click here to view the most up to date Blackberry models available in Ireland

British Airways is to allow passengers to send and receive SMS text messages, e-mails and access the Internet via their mobile phones and devices such as Blackberrys. The new service will be launched by OnAir, the company who is also installing a similar service on some of Ryanair's flights.

• Click here to read the details (PDF document)

Google have a variety of free applications for many mobile phone and handheld devices including for Blackberry, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, iPhone, Windows Mobile devices and much more. Applications including Google products such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, photo applications and much more.

• Click here to visit the Google Mobile web site