The thousands of consumers planning to snap up a 3G iPhone when they go on sale next month could be hit with bills of thousands of pounds if they download music or programmes overseas, industry insiders warned last week.
Apple and its partner O2 have used the unlimited download facility in much of its marketing for both the first iPhone that hit the shops last November, and the new 3G model, which will be available free on some O2 tariffs.
However, the unlimited data and wi-fi allowances only apply in the UK. Once you start using the device abroad, charges shoot up to £3 for each megabyte (Mb) of data downloaded in the EU and £6 elsewhere in the world.
That means watching the average BBC iPlayer programme, which is about 300Mb in size, would cost £900 if you were in France and £1,800 for someone visiting America.
If you do need to access the internet through your iPhone while outside the UK, and are likely to be downloading a significant amount of information, the best option is probably to take out a data-roaming add-on for when you require the service.
O2 offers a range of bolt-on options, including a 50Mb package that costs £50 a month. There are also some catches when downloading information in this country, though.
Analysts say the new O2 deal offers better value than the previous package for those who will use their iPhones for extensive internet browsing in this country thanks to the “unlimited” download policy. But even this is subject to a fair-usage policy.
This means that, although there is no set limit, your connection may be stopped or dramatically slowed if you are deemed to be over-using it.
