O2 unveils partnership to support Palm Pre, BlackBerry and iPhone customers

Thursday, January 28th 2010

Smartphone customers who use BlackBerries, iPhones and Palm Pres under O2 could soon enjoy better support after a new partnership with Azzurri Communications has been announced.

Network operator O2 has announced that Azzurri Communications will become a strategic partner to help deliver services to customers including additional support for iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm Pre users.

Under the O2 Centre of Excellence Programme, Azzurri will manage a base of O2 customers and focus its mobile phone operations almost solely on 02, giving up its other direct network relationships in the process.

Commenting on the new partnership, Ben Dowd, O2 business sales director, claims that the network operator continues to move away from being seen as a mobile phone-related brand to a "leading connectivity service brand".

But does O2 offer the services to back this claim up?

Chief executive officer for Azzurri Communications Gordon Matthew seems to think so.

"We believe O2's network coverage, product strategy and vision are the most compelling of all the UK mobile operators and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. As leaders in the mobile space, with over 21 million customers I believe we are going to be working with a winning team," he says.

Indeed, the operator continues to expand its market presence. It recently announced that it has entered the home phone sector and from March, new and existing broadband customers will be offered a home handset.

This, it claims, follows its strategy to establishment itself as a force in the home broadband market, something O2 believes it has been successful with.