O2 has published an apology for the security breach, which led to users' mobile numbers being shared with websites when browsed from a smartphone or dongle.

The statement said: “We investigated, identified and fixed it this afternoon. We would like to apologise for the concern we have caused. We are in contact with the Information Commissioner's office, and we will be co-operating fully.”

The last line relates to an investigation launched by the Information Commissioner's office into the security breach, to find out more about how the problem occurred.

O2 has a list of FAQ's, detailing how and why in some cases your number is identified when browsing sites, usually to restrict access to inappropriate content, or for charging online purchases such as ringtones and wallpaper to a mobile phone account or when accessing services such as My O2.

The issue of mobile numbers being shared with websites outside of O2's Trusted Partners list has been happening since 10th January, following technical changes implemented by O2 as part of routine maintenance. The only private information that was 'shared' was the mobile number; no other private information linking the numbers to any individual was at risk.

O2 also stated: “We take the security of our customers' data extremely seriously. This was a one-off incident, which has now been fixed. We have fixed the problem and we are putting in additional measures to prevent a re-occurrence.”

Via

O2 is accused of sharing customer mobile numbers with websites visited from smartphones and mobile broadband services, leaving customers open to receiving SPAM and possible identify fraud.

The accusation comes from Lewis Peckover, who claims that when a user connects to an internet service using a mobile data connection, information including the mobile number is passed on to the site.

Apparently not all users are suffering from the problem, particularly BlackBerry handsets seem to not be sharing this data, however that still leaves a large number of users who are open to security issues.

To test if your phone is sending out your number when you browse a website, you can visit lew.io/headers.php from your mobile device, and see what information has been transmitted. So far only O2 customers seem to be affected; those on other networks have not reported an issue.

As is the way these days, users of O2 took to Twitter to make their feelings known about this issue. O2 are said to be looking into the problem and will issue a fix as soon as possible.

O2 has revealed that its popular location based deals scheme, Priority Moments, has saved an average of £1m per month for users, since the app was launched 5 months ago.

The Priority Moments service launched in July 2011, and has given O2 customers access to more than 1,900 offers from more than 230 leading brands. Restaurant deals are most popular on the service, with almost half of all offers coming from leading chains such as Zizzi, ASK, Yo! Sushi and Café Rouge.

Since the launch of the service, almost 300 Priority Moments users have accessed the service more than 1,000 times each, taking advantage of discount offers from major high street names.

More than one quarter of discounts available come from leading retailers such as BHS, House of Fraser and Burton. Leisure discounts, including cinema and travel discounts make up exactly 25% of offers available.

“Over the past five months our customers have been able to take advantage of great offers from some of the country's best loved and respected brands,” said Sally Cowdry, Marketing and Consumer director at O2. “That meant our 22 million customers could treat themselves all year round as well as their loved ones during Christmas.”

O2 has bespoke apps to access Priority Moments available for Android and iOS devices, available to download from the Android Market and Apple App Store respectively. Users of other devices can access the service via a mobile website.

O2 will provide free WiFi coverage for the London 2012 Olympics, as the result of a deal agreed between the network operator and Westminster council.

According to a report in the FT, the deal will be signed and officially announced next week.

Telefónica, the owners of O2, have won the contract against competition from both Virgin Media and Sky. Work is expected to start in early 2012 on installing the network, using street lamps and bus stops throughout Westminster.

Once the network has been rolled out, the service will offer free and unlimited WiFi access to users of smartphones, Tablets and laptops.

The service is expected to continue to be available once the Olympic games have finished, although at some point a charge may be levied for access. The issue of coverage for mobile devices during the Olympics has been a concern for many, given the sharp rise in recent years of smartphones and Tablet devices. By encouraging users to take advantage of WiFi services for web browsing, it may reduce the strain on the mobile networks, for services such as calls and text messaging.

O2 has become the first network in the UK to offer subscribers the chance to lease the Apple iPhone 4S, letting customers obtain the handset with no upfront charges to pay.

The leasing scheme is a 12 month contract, and unlike with other pay monthly contract options, at the end of the 12 months the phone has to be handed back to O2.

The monthly charges for leasing the iPhone are higher than the standard contract line rentals, too. For a 16 GB iPhone 4S, the monthly charge is £55. The monthly inclusive allowance included with this charge is 750 minutes, unlimited texts and 500 MB of mobile internet usage, plus unlimited UK WiFi. If you want to lease the 32 GB iPhone 4S, the monthly charge is £65.

Also included in the monthly charge is an insurance package, quite important if you need to be returning the phone at the end of the leasing agreement. The insurance covers you for theft and loss, with an excess fee for a first time claim of £60, which jumps to £120 for any subsequent claims.

The insurance does not cover accidental damage, and the user will be expected to cover any cosmetic repairs needed on the phone. There will also be a financial penalty for non-returned handsets, as well as those returned in non-working condition.

Sally Cowdry, O2 UK Marketing Director, said: “O2 has had to build entirely new systems for handling everything from credit agreements to managing device returns, and, increasingly, our recycling commitment at the end of the contracts. We believe the result is a new model that will challenge the industry and its customers to look at the UK's mobile landscape with fresh eyes.”

O2 has announced that their O2 customer service app, My O2, has finally been released to the Android platform, giving Android customers the option to control their O2 account from their Android smartphone.

It has to be one of the more annoying sides of calling customer services, getting held in a long queue when you have better things to do. All of the networks can struggle with this, so it is no surprise to see that apps like My O2 being released, giving users access to their account on the move.

The My O2 app is already available on for iOS, and can be used by Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go customers. Via the app it is possible to check the current balance on your account, check tariff info and keep an eye on your most recent invoice, too.

The app not only monitors how many texts and minutes you have left each month, but also how much data allowance is provided on your account, plus the duration of your deal and when your next upgrade is available.

O2 have plans to extend the functionality of My O2 going in to 2012, with updates for the iOS app bringing features such as checking on your data usage, which is already included on the Android version. Further updates will include the option to add O2 Bolt Ons, view linked accounts and also see the latest offers from O2.

The My O2 app can be downloaded from the Android Market, and joins apps for the other mobile networks that offer access to your account billing information: Three, Your Orange, My T-Mobile and My Vodafone.

O2 is beginning a 4G network trial in London over the next 9 months, giving users the opportunity to 'glimpse into the superfast future of mobile broadband.'

The trial will run until next summer, and is the largest trial of an LTE network service in the UK. The trial network will consist of 25 4G sites, which give a combined coverage area of 40 square kilometres, ranging from Hyde Park to the O2 Arena in Greenwich, incorporating Canary Wharf, Soho, Westminster, South Bank and Kings Cross.

1,000 trialists have been selected, and will be given Samsung B3730 mobile broadband dongles, which can support speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive of Telefonica UK which runs O2 said: “Today's launch of the UK's first 4G London trial network demonstrates our commitment to delivering 4G to our customers at the earliest opportunity. The work we are doing now will lay the foundations for our commercial 4G network when it launches in the UK. This 4G trial is the next step on our journey to a smarter network – a network that offers seamless, connected experience across multiple devices, locations and services. The forthcoming spectrum auction is a watershed moment for the UK mobile industry, which will see the release of the airwaves capable of powering a whole range of exciting next-generation mobile services.”

The launch of a commercially available network in the UK isn't likely to occur until at least 2013. The industry regulator OfCom is due to auction spectrum towards the end of 2012, as long as there are no further objections from the networks regarding the auction process, the main cause of delays in the auction process so far.

O2 is bringing back their popular iTunes Friday offer, which allows O2 customers to choose three free songs from the iTunes store, every Friday between now and December.

Customers who have signed up for the O2 Treats service will be able to apply for a code which can be used with their iTunes account, which gives three credits which can be redeemed against the cost of the songs.

The promotion starts today, Friday 11th November, and runs until Friday the 16th December. O2 state that customers downloaded over 170,000 songs the last time they ran the iTunes promotion.

Maria O'Neill, head of Consumer Marketing at Telefónica Ireland, said: “Thousands of our customers absolutely loved their free iTunes downloads when we ran this promotion last year, so we are delighted to be able to bring it back. More and more of our customers are listening to music on their smartphones as well as their laptops, tablets and home computers, so we are keen to reward them with free music downloads on iTunes.”

O2 plan to launch an International Pay As You Go SIM card on the 22nd November, which will offer international calling rates to India and China from just 1p per minute.

The O2 International SIM will be available free of charge to all prepay customers, and can also be combined with the O2 Unlimited service, so customers can send unlimited texts to other O2 numbers with a £10 monthly top up, and unlimited O2 to O2 calls with a £15 top up.

As well as lower rates to India and China, reduced rates to Pakistan will give calls at just 4p per minute, whilst calls to the US start at just 2p per minute. Text messages will start from just 10p each.

O2 customers who are already using the International package will have the new rates automatically applied without needing to make any changes.

Consumer and Marketing Director at O2, Sally Cowdry, said: “Collectively, our customers spend longer talking on their phone internationally than those on any other network, and we recognise that more and more time is being spent calling mobiles abroad. We are really pleased to be offering both existing and new Pay & Go O2 Unlimited customers calling card rates for making international calls, as little as 1p per minute.”

O2 has unveiled a new £4m marketing campaign for its Priority Moments service, offering exclusive savings with leading companies in the run up to the important festive shopping season.

The new ads, which started running on nationwide TV from the 2nd November, feature a Santa Claus character enjoying the wide variety of Priority Moments discounts on offer to O2 customers, helping them to get exclusive offers and discounts on the run up to Christmas.

The updated campaign now includes offers from leading retail names such as House of Fraser, where O2 customers can get a £15 voucher on a £40 spend, a free hot drink and mince pie at Bella Italia, Café Rouge or Strada, and 50% discounts on selected fragrances at The Fragrance Shop.

The TV commercials will be supported by a national advertising campaign in national and regional papers and magazines as well as outdoor billboards. O2 will also use social media extensively to support the new Priority Moments offers.

Sally Cowdry, the O2 Marketing and Consumer Director, said: “We know that in the current financial climate this Christmas will be tough for everyone and so being able to offer money saving offers and experiences is a great way to help our customers make the most of the festive season. With a wide range of offers available through our Priority Moments Christmas campaign there is something for everyone. The advertising campaign includes TV to create mass awareness but as Priority Moments is a location based mobile service outdoor advertising will also be key.”

O2 launched Priority Moments back in July, and the service has proven to be popular with O2 customers. A recent upgrade to the service now allows offers to be filtered by category, and the updated search function allows consumers to search for offers by any location, not just in the current area. Customers will also be able to access online offers, as well as the location based offers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are an existing O2 customer, you can register for Priority Moments by texting 'MOMENTS' to 2020. If you are looking to make the move to O2, check out our range of O2 handset offers at our O2 Deals page.