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Brief History
High Streets across the UK started being speckled with the color Orange back 2000. Since then the Orange network has grown to over 300 stores around the UK with 1 in 5 people choosing this network. It has been the only operator to steadily increase its market share since 2008. Orange is a subsidiary of France Telecom which is the fifth biggest mobile operator worldwide. Most recently Orange has been merged with T-Mobile and have formed the brand Everything Everywhere. As with most networks you can choose to go on Pay Monthly contracts or Pay as You Go prepaid bundles. The current branding will continue for some time however. The company also offer broadband services.
Some Facts
For data users Orange has 99% network coverage of the UK for 2G and 93% network coverage on 3G. The 3G coverage will also borrow from T-Mobile when the merger is implemented. Orange has some of the fastest Internet infrastructures. They are currently rolling-out one of the biggest HSDPA networks in the UK so the future really is bright.
Pay Monthly Contracts
With the 18 or 24 month contracts you can get a free phone. The kind of phone depends on the contract. Contracts start at £10.50 per month with 30 minutes talk time with 500 texts and 100MB internet. There are 10 phones to choose from on this plan including the Samsung Galaxy Mini. If you are looking at getting a top end phone then on £51 per month contract you have a choice of 39 of the most flashy handsets on the market like the Samsung Galaxy S2 with 1200 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of data per month. You can also get an iPhone 4 on a £46 monthly plan.
Pay as You Go
If you already have a phone you can go for a Pay as You Go payment plan. Simply top up the desired amount and choose which bundles best match your usage patterns. There are5 plans to choose from depending on how much you want to top up. For £10 top up you can go on the Canary plan which gets you 100 texts and 100 minutes of talk time. If you are a big user of text messaging and the Internet, then for only £10, the Dolphin plan offers you 400 texts with 100MB Internet or 250MB for iPhone users .
Top Up and Customer Service
You can top up by logging in with your account on the Orange website, you can do a one off top up using your credit or debit card or set up a direct debit. You can use vouchers available at stores all around the country. You can even get somebody else to top up your credits through the Orange website which can be particularly handy when you are abroad. Orange have UK based call centres. Wait times are quite low and the staff seems well trained. The support section of their website is a little goldmine with over 14,000 pages of information on almost anything you can think of when it comes to mobile phones.