3 rolls out unlimited data for pay-as-you-go customers

The mobile operator 3 has launched unlimited data services for its pay-as-you-go customers.

Announced on Monday, the new plans start at £15 and offer all-you-can-eat data. The move follows a rollout of unlimited data usage to many of 3's contract customers in December. The operator seems to be the only one bucking the current trend for giving customers less and less data to use per month.

"We want to get people using their smartphones in the way they were designed to be used, and that means data," 3 marketing chief Marc Allera said in a statement. "3's network was built for data, and it's the confidence in the strength of our 3G network that means we can introduce deals like this."

3 has two unlimited data pay-as-you-go (PAYG) plans: All in One 15, which costs £15 for 30 days of unlimited data, 300 minutes and 3,000 texts; and All in One 25, which costs £25 and includes 200 more minutes for each 30-day period. New customers can get the tariffs straight away, while those who signed up with 3 before September 2010 will have to migrate to the new tariffs, the operator said.