As Facebook, Bebo and eBay top the popularity charts on Vodafone Mobile Internet, Vodafone UK has today changed the way it structures its price plans to include access to the internet and email on their mobile as an integral part of the monthly price plan.

The move means that pay monthly customers will no longer need to buy an additional internet bundle for £7.50 but instead every plan will automatically include internet access. The new plans will give Vodafone customers reliable and fast unlimited* access to their favourite social network sites, email and the whole of the internet when out and about in the UK. Vodafone customers will now have even greater confidence to browse the mobile internet without the worry of additional charges, no matter what monthly plan they choose.

Price plans start at £25 and customers who select a £40 or higher price plan will also for the first time have the choice of unlimited texts, unlimited landline calls or unlimited Vodafone to Vodafone calls.

“Our customers want simplicity and services that are easy to select, buy and use. Today with our new price plans Vodafone customers have the confidence to browse for as long as they need with no extra costs when checking their e-mail, visiting their favourite social networking sites or making a final bid on eBay,“ said Ian Shepherd, director of consumer for Vodafone UK. “This will make Vodafone not only the network of choice for voice and text but also the internet. And what’s more, all customers who visit a store to sign up to the new plan will benefit from Vodafone’s simple two minute set up for email so that they can leave the store up and running.”

Since launching the internet on mobiles last summer Vodafone has witnessed the growth in consumers’ appetite for email, instant messaging, and social networking as well as more general services such as Google search. Favourites for customers include quick access to Facebook, MySpace or Bebo to share pictures and news, YouTube to check out videos on the move, and fast connections to eBay to make that last minute bid.

*subject to a fair usage policy of 500MB / per month

Awesome! With any luck orange will match it on the Orange Value Promise, too...

Damn! Just signed up to 12mths with O2 paying £7.50 for their "unlimited" (200MB) package.

Would have gone with Vodafone just for this!

hold your horses.... this comes as part of a new tariff refresh - guess how much more expensive the new tariffs are than the old ones? About £5...

so - headline actually is "vodafone increases unlimited browsing limit from 100mb to 500mb and drops price from £7.50 to £5" - not actually exciting after all...

I think car manufacturers specify that if a car is used for instance as a minicab then the warranty doesn't apply....

I just can't get over the fact that people (the consumer) accept unlimited means "500MB"!?! How is that even close to unlimited? Vodafone and all companies that advertise "unlimited" but impose 'usage limits' should be ashamed of themselves.

I understand and accept why limits have to be imposed but it is obserd that marketers are able to get away with this false advertising. In addition to obvious, using the term 'unlimited' makes it very difficult for consumers to make comparisons of the different providers, unlimited to one provider is 100MB while to another unlimited is 500MB, which really does beg the question as to why they are allowed to market BOTH AS THE SAME SERVICE...go figure.

Another way to look at it is to compare it to a new car warranty. If Ford advertises you can buy the new Focus for whatever and it comes with a 3 year unlimited milage warranty, you get just that. It's not unlimited subject to a 'fair usage' policy otherwise it wouldn't be an unlimited warranty.

Agh now I'm frustrated lol. I say there should be a consumer backlash at marketers who tell porkies!

One last point, then I'm done...the failure by providers to clearly and precisely define what is classed as 'abuse' simply is just another way of imposing a limit on an unlimited tarrif because they are simply retaining the ability to 'choke' your volume as they please by quoting "violation of the fair usage...spew...". Anyway, how can there be too much use on an unlimited plan? Talk about the meaning of life?!?