Vodafone updates its iPad data plan again, now 'unlimited'

Vodafone now offering unlimited data plan (but with a 5GB data limit)

The iPad data plan offered by Vodafone has changed again on the Apple Store, making this the third offer listed by Vodafone for iPad data usage in the UK.

Previously, Vodafone offered a 5GB plan for £25, which Macworld noted compared unfavourably to the 10GB plan offered by Orange for £25 (both are monthly rollowing plans.) Vodafone originally also offered a 250MB for £10 plan, but quickly updated this to match O2's 1GB for £10.

Now, the Vodafone £25 deal is listed as 'Unlimited'. This would make more sense. The catch? If you read the small print you find that a Fair Usage policy of 5GB applies. So what gives? What's the difference between an unlimited policy with a 5GB Fair Usage policy or a 5GB policy full stop. The only difference is that if you break the 5GB limit Vodafone could bounce you off the service, rather than charge you extra.

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The iPad data plan offered by Vodafone has changed again on the Apple Store, making this the third offer listed by Vodafone for iPad data usage in the UK.

Previously, Vodafone offered a 5GB plan for £25, which Macworld noted compared unfavourably to the 10GB plan offered by Orange for £25 (both are monthly rollowing plans.) Vodafone originally also offered a 250MB for £10 plan, but quickly updated this to match O2's 1GB for £10.

Now, the Vodafone £25 deal is listed as 'Unlimited'. This would make more sense. The catch? If you read the small print you find that a Fair Usage policy of 5GB applies. So what gives? What's the difference between an unlimited policy with a 5GB Fair Usage policy or a 5GB policy full stop. The only difference is that if you break the 5GB limit Vodafone could bounce you off the service, rather than charge you extra.

Orange, meanwhile, offers a 10GB deal for £25.

Superficially, the Vodafone deal no longer appears worse than the Orange deal, but we're not sure you can really get away with calling a policy "unlimited" when it has a fair usage policy that's half as much as an rival policy and is still quite small in the scheme of things. Again, we've noted that a lot depends on what you use the iPad for. Browsing the web is unlikely to break 5GB per month, although watching online video and streaming music could quickly take you over the 5GB limit.

Either way, it seems like Vodafone is having to play catch-up to the other services here. The great thing here is seeing how the market responds to ensure deals are competetive.

It's worth noting that you should also be able to insert any Micro-SIM from another supplier and get it to work, so you aren't limited to just these three carriers. Some Macworld readers have also suggested using Mi-Fi devices with a Wi-Fi iPad as an alternative.

Our thoughts are that offering an unlimited deal is a good move by Vodafone, but removing the 5GB Fair Usage limit (or at the very least matching Orange's 10GB deal) would make it seem more authentic. What do other readers think?