Sat 16 Dec 2006
As far as free broadband is concerned things have been very quiet over the past few weeks.
But i thought i would inform you of a change in the offering from Orange. Basically they are now going to make you pay an extra £5 per month if you want a connection speed higher than 2mb. Bit of a cheek in my book but then just to rub more salt in the wounds they will also charge people who are getting the free under 2mb service 50p a minute to report a fault.
Nice one Orange!
Fri 1 Sep 2006
A very interesting little article from the BBC’s Working Lunch TV programme, highliting one mans plight with Orange broadband. The article then goes on to discuss other options on broadband with companies such as BT. Definately worth a read.
Sat 26 Aug 2006
So Orange aka Wanadoo have stepped up to the plate and are now offering free broadband. But, yes you guessed it (there is a theme here) you need to have a mobile phone with them.
So whats the offer?
Well you need to get or already have a mobile phone from Orange and be paying more than £30 a month in line rental (not pay as you go). If you already have a phone they will offer you a new phone and the free internet if you sign a new 18 month contract and you have less than 3 months left on your mobile contract. If you have a mobile contract with over 3 months left they will ask you to sign a new 18 month contract with no new phone to take advantage of the free broadband.
The broadband provided for free is an 8Mb connection (depending on your local exchange etc) and comes with a very poor 2Gb download limit. Orange do claim that for 90% of their customers this is sufficient. They also state that they wont be hunting people down if you go over a bit or even charge you if you do. However, if you consistently go over they will threaten to disconnect your supply or the only other option is to upgrade to Broadband Max at £27.99 a month ouch!
There are some good points you don’t seem to have to pay a connection charge and they are offering you 150Mb of webspace to put your websites on and 500Mb of webmail space. They will also give you a “Livebox” this is their version of wireless internet and it seems like it remains in the procession of Orange so I reckon they may well want it back after the contract period. To my knowledge however it is possible to connect to a live box using an Ethernet cable so a wireless card isn’t essential either. They also give you a basic firewall from McAfee and a token discount on McAfee Internet Security Software of 20%.Orange have also taken it upon themselves to offer you free VOIP (Voice over internet protocol) calls from your PC or MAC. Basically this will allow you to ring any UK landline starting with 01 or 02 between 6pm and 8am Monday to Friday and all weekend.
Conclusions
As with all these Free Broadband packages they are dependent on you keeping up with service attached to the free broadband, in this case your Mobile contract. The broadband offer is ok but again it really does depend what you use your broadband connection for. On a plus note Orange seem to be willing to be sensible about this but in practice it might well be a different story. The 18month contract is a bit tight to be honest and I really see this offer more as a added value package for Orange Mobile Customers then a serious Free Broadband offer.
Do you have Orange Free Broadband? What it is it like in your eyes? Comments please.
