O2/Be Mobile + Broadband on ice ’til the end of summer

A combined O2 /Be Broadband mobile and internet looks set to be launched sometime around September, when it is estimated that the radius of the Be network will have expanded to cover over 50% of the UK, although, again there has been no definite word from O2 on any plans.

This means that if O2 do indeed launch in September, then they could only feasibly advertise their services in selected areas in the country, or have to negotiate a deal with a wholesale provider, mostly likely BT, if they intend to supply the services across the whole of the UK. If O2 do choose to clamber into bed with BT it would make for an odd turn of events, seeing as the telco used to own the mobile network back in the BT Cellnet days.

O2 are typically reluctant to give any specific date, preferring to wait until the time is right to launch their service; Peter Erskine, Chairman of Telefonia O2 Europe’s mobile phones division has said that: “The one thing I will not do is launch something that isn’t ready, on the customer.”

O2 bought then-small UK ISP Be Broadband for a cool £50million over a year ago and had originally planned to have a multi-platform service up and running by the start of this year. However, technology problems have led to targets not being met, resulting in entire advertising campaigns being scrapped.

Given that 2006 was ‘the year of Broadband’, and the fortunes of many internet service providers has in those twelve months been turbulent, a fashionably late entry into the converged communications market may be a wise move. We’ll just have to wait until the end of the summer to find out…

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