FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
26 September 2005
O2 plc
Wellington Street
Slough, Berkshire SL1 1YP, England
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F
Form 20-F..X... Form 40-F.....
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ..... No ..X...
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82 ________
Enclosure:
Copy of announcement regarding 'Product Launch' sent to the
London Stock Exchange on 26 September 2005
O2 UNVEILS i-mode(R) IN THE UK
-Internet at the touch of a button is available in the UK exclusively from
O2
-October 1 launch on Pay as You Go and Pay Monthly
-Available on both 3G and 2G
-Around 100 international and local mobile Internet sites at launch from
well known brands such as Egg, Interflora, lastminute.com, Rightmove.co.uk
and Monster.com
-Four unique i-mode handsets, with more to follow
-Introductory offer - free content browsing, free content subscriptions
until end of 2005, free picture messaging and email until April next year.
-First easy to use e-mail service "pushed" direct to your mobile
-Secure Internet technology for banking and shopping
Released: 26 September 2005
O2 today announced the UK launch of i-mode(R), the world's most widely-used
mobile Internet service with more than 50 million users in 22 countries. i-mode
is an easy to use, fast and cost effective way for mobile users to enjoy a world
of content from Internet sites they already know. i-mode is available from O2
stores in the UK from October 1.
Originally developed six years ago by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile
operator, O2 will launch i-mode services in Ireland next week. A similar mobile
Internet service based on NTT DoCoMo's technology will be launched by O2 under
its own brand in Germany in the first half of 2006.
i-mode combines the simplicity and speed normally associated with fixed Internet
services with a consistently good customer experience on a range of unique
handsets. It has something for everyone - users can email using a unique
personal address that they choose as well as browse and transact with a wide
range of i-mode Internet sites made specifically for use on mobile phones.
In addition, i-mode users can be safe in the knowledge that content and services
come directly from respected companies that they know and are based on secure,
open Internet standards. The simple, tried and tested integration of email and
mobile Internet means customers can do simple things like click straight through
from an i-mode site to their personal email, phone a number they find on a site
with just one click or add pictures to their emails.
Differing from O2 Active, which focuses more on entertainment and information
services, i-mode is a service built to fit a customer's lifestyle. To date,
close to 100 well-known brands have developed official i-mode sites for the
October 1 launch. These will allow customers to do many of the things they
typically use the Internet for today - such as banking, shopping, booking
tickets or holidays.
Sites available from October include Egg, Rightmove.co.uk, Channel 4, BAA,
Financial Times, Interflora, Sky Sports and News, Norwich Union, the National
Lottery, FHM, F1-Live.com, The Times Online, Maxim, Sony BMG, GMTV, India FM,
Streetmap, Konami, Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog. As on the Internet, browsing on
i-mode sites will be completely free with additional premium content and
services available on most sites via monthly subscriptions of up to a maximum of
GBP3 per site. This is unlike current mobile portals where customers pay for
each download individually.
Matthew Key, chief executive of O2 UK, said: "i-mode gives us a very strong
differentiator because it's based on some very simple customer feedback. Namely,
if people are going to use more mobile Internet services, they need to be far
easier, faster and populated with a richer range of content from brands they
already know and trust. Moreover, with i-mode, services that are proven to make
people's lives easier like banking and shopping, but which have to date been
either impossible or too complicated on mobiles, are now simple and secure.
"The i-mode experience in other countries shows that this new depth and breadth
of content, combined with the speed and simplicity of use, leads to far higher
customer usage. For example, research has shown that seven out of 10 people who
buy i-mode handsets use the service, compared to just three who use the
available WAP services on their handset, and those users access four times more
content."
i-mode provides a simple, fast one-button access to email and the mobile
Internet portal. Users simply push the i button on the handset to navigate
straight to O2's i-mode browser, giving instant 'always-on' access.
Additionally, because i-mode sites are inherently designed for mobile, customers
will enjoy the fastest possible browsing experience. For example, there are
dedicated buttons that enable users to quickly navigate back and forth between
i-mode pages without delays.
The service also benefits content providers because it employs the commonly used
open Internet technology they are already accustomed to. This means they can
develop i-mode sites far faster, easier and more cheaply. Uniquely, i-mode site
providers such as lastminute.com and Egg can manage their relationship with
users, including charging them directly for any additional services they buy.
Also, because many i-mode services are bought on a subscription basis, there is
a real incentive for content providers to offer a great customer experience and
build long term loyalty.
As i-mode is intuitive and easy to use it has been found in other countries to
drive higher usage than other existing mobile data services and deliver
increased revenues for operators. With an industry leading 25% plus of its
revenue from mobile data services, O2 believes that the launch of i-mode will
give it significant competitive advantage and help maintain its strong position
in this growing market.
Handsets
O2 will offer customers four handsets from NEC and Samsung at various price
points to appeal to different market segments. All four handsets include
standard i-mode features such as one-button portal access, integrated e-mail and
browsing, navigation buttons and advanced hardware for audio and games
applications. As customers become familiar with i-mode, this range will be
expanded to include handsets from other leading manufacturers.
Further details of the handset range can be found at www.o2.com under press
releases in the media centre.
Availability
O2 UK will sell the i-mode service and handsets at its 300 retail stores in the
UK, the O2 online shop (www.o2.co.uk) and through popular retailers like P4U,
Carphone Warehouse, The Link, Argos, Woolworths and other channels.
Pricing
O2 is the only operator to offer a simple, single browsing pricing plan with one
price for both Pay Monthly and Pay as You Go customers. Pricing is exactly the
same whether users access sites on the official i-mode portal or go 'off portal'
to access other sites. This makes i-mode transparent and simple to understand.
Browsing and downloading is priced at GBP3 per megabyte, with each megabyte
equal to approximately 100 pages, which is the same rate that O2 charges for
other consumer data services. In addition, customers can save more than 50% on
their browsing cost by adding simple data bundles known as O2 Bolt On's. These
Bolt On's have been tailored for the regular and heavy users to make it easy for
customers to plan and control what they spend.
Introductory offer
Elements of the launch package designed to get people started include:
-Free content subscriptions to official i-mode content sites until the New
Year when customers buy or upgrade their phone to an i-mode handset to a
maximum of 10 at any one time.
-Free mobile browsing for the first 3 months (from 1 Oct to 31 Dec) on
contract and the first month on pre-pay.
-Free i-mode email (i-mail - your personal email) and picture messaging
(MMS) until April 2006, per message pricing thereafter.
Messaging
Emails without an attachment will be charged from the outset at the same price
as standard text messages. If an email is sent to more than one recipient (up to
5), they will only be charged for one message.
Retail price Monthly Bolt On's
Text 10p pre-pay & 12p pay monthly Standard combination of Bolt
On's. See www.o2.co.uk for
details
i-mail and MMS Free until April 2006. 10p Same as text
without pre-pay & 12p pay monthly
attachment thereafter
i-mail and MMS Free until April 2006. 25p Same as MMS
with thereafter
attachment
From October 10, 2005, mysterious yellow 'i-mode' posters will feature in high
profile locations around the UK, heralding the start of one of O2's biggest ever
advertising campaigns since the launch of the company in 2001
- ends -
O2 plc
O2 plc has 100% ownership of mobile network operators in three countries - the
UK, Germany and Ireland - as well as a leading mobile Internet portal business.
All of these businesses are branded as 'O2sub'. The company is a founding member
of Starmap Mobile Alliance, has operations on the Isle of Man (Manx Telecom) and
owns Airwave O2 - an advanced, digital emergency communications service. In
addition, O2 has established the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture
businesses in the UK and Germany respectively.
O2 has nearly 25 million customers and some 15,000 employees. It reported
revenues for the year ended 31 March 2005 of GBP6.683 billion. Data represented
26% of total service revenues in the quarter ending 30 June 2005.
O2 contacts
Simon Gordon Nicola Green
Head of Media Relations O2 UK
O2 plc nicola.green@o2.com
simon.gordon@o2.com t: +44 (0) 079 769 57810
t: +44 (0)771 007 0698
O2 press office: 01753 628402
Dave Massey
O2 UK
dave.massey@o2.com
t: +44 (0) 773 042 6222
All O2 Group news releases can be accessed at our web site: www.o2.com
'i-mode' and the 'i-mode' logo are trade marks or registered trade marks of NTT
DoCoMo Inc. in Japan and other countries. O2 Active, O2 Bolt On's and O2 are
trademarks of the O2 Group of companies.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
O2 plc
Date: 26 September 2005 By:___/s/ Robert Harwood___
ROBERT HARWOOD
Assistant Secretary