iPhone on O2: How much does it cost to buy, upgrade and use?

Listen up, UK iPhone fans. Here's the complete low-down on what it costs to buy a new iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S, or upgrade from an existing iPhone, and then how much it'll cost you to use it.

Buying a new iPhone 3G S or iPhone 3G

Here's a breakdown of what it costs to sign up for a monthly consumer contract. Note that the iPhone 3G 16GB model is no longer available.

If you're a business customer, these are the costs (excluding VAT):

There are also a load of corporate tariffs to choose from.

Standard Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) prices

Buying an iPhone without a contract costs the following:

• iPhone 3G 8GB - £342.50
• iPhone 3G S 16GB - £440.40
• iPhone 3G S 32GB - £538.30

This comes with 12 months of unlimited web and Wi-Fi access, after which you must pay £10 per month to continue this "O2 Web & Wi-Fi Bolt On".

By default, PAYG iPhones are placed on the "Favourites" tariff which offers unlimited calls to UK landlines and O2 mobiles from any postcode you choose, plus:

• Top up £10-£14 and get 500 minutes
• Top up £15-£29 and get 1000 minutes
• Top up £30+ and get unlimited minutes

Other PAYG tariffs are available including Talkalotmore, Text Anytime, O2 Unlimited, Your Country, and Text and Call.

Upgrading from an iPhone to an iPhone 3G S

"All O2 Pay Monthly customers are part of O2 Priority List and those paying £35 or more a month have the opportunity to upgrade early. Customers won't have to see out the full term of their existing contract before being eligible for an upgrade:

• All customers continually spending over a minimum of £80.00 a month, receive a 6 month early upgrade
• All customers continually spending over a minimum of £50.00 a month, receive a 3 month early upgrade
• All customers continually spending a minimum of £35.00 a month, receive a 1 month early upgrade

Alternatively, existing iPhone users can buy a new iPhone 3G S at PAYG prices and swap out the SIM from their existing iPhone 3G (this won't work with the first generation non-3G iPhone).

Or, you can pay the remainder of the monthly line rental in one payment and sign a new Pay Monthly contract.

Extra charges

MMS

For pay monthly customers. each MMS (picture message) costs the equivalent of four standard SMS text messages and is deducted from the existing bundle allowance.

After any allowance is exhausted, MMS cost 24.47p each.

For Pay-and-Go customers, each MMS costs 25p. Alternatively, bundles are available.

Internet Tethering

Personal pay monthly users must buy an Internet Tethering Bolt On:

3GB of monthly data allowance costs £14.68 per month.
10GB of monthly data allowance costs £29.36 per month.

Each additional 1MB of data used beyond the allowance costs 19.6p.

Business users must buy an Internet Tethering Bolt On:

3GB of monthly data allowance costs £9.99 per month if you sign up for 24 months, otherwise £12.77 per 30 day period.
9GB of monthly data allowance costs £20.00 per month if you sign up for 24 months, otherwise £23.83 per 30 day period.

All users get unlimited Wi-Fi from The Cloud for use on their laptops.

Internet Tethering only works in the UK.

If you use the iPhone as a modem abroad, it costs £2.94 per MB (£2.55 without VAT) in the EU and £6 per MB everywhere else.

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