Orange UK
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1994 (by Hutchison Telecom) |
| Headquarters |  Bristol, UK |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Tom Alexander (Chief Executive) |
| Products | Mobile telecommunications products and services, Broadband and internet products and services |
| Revenue | €6,620 million (2007)[1] |
| Website | www.orange.co.uk |
Orange UK is a mobile network operator and internet service provider in the United Kingdom which is owned by France Télécom. It was founded in 1994 by Hutchison Telecom which was later bought by Mannesmann AG and then in May 2000 sold to its present owners. Orange UK has over 17 million customers through its mobile and broadband services[2].
Service
Orange UK currently offers two mobile phone packages; pay as you go and pay monthly service plans.
As with other prepaid plans, pay as you go mobile users are given the option to top-up their phone via a swipe card, over the internet or via a credit or debit card.
The pay monthly service gives customers an option of 12, 18 or 24 month contracts. The contracts come 'bundled' with minutes, text messages and within some contracts data and insurance services, additional charges can be incurred for Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) and Mobile Data services.
Orange UK operates a GPRS, EDGE and 3G service and is in the process of rolling out a HSDPA network. Orange's 2G network covers 99% of the UK population and has the largest integrated 3G/2.5G network in the UK, Orange claims it spends up to £1.5 million per day investing in its network[3].
In addition to this Orange UK provides DSL services, under the same brand. Originally operated as Freeserve in the UK it was bought-out by France Telecom, rebranded as Wanadoo and on 1st June 2006 Wanadoo was rebranded Orange. When Orange launched its DSL broadband service it offered it for 'free', joining TalkTalk in the foray for market share[4]. The company has attempted to converge its mobile and DSL broadband products and like its competitors offers DSL broadband services alongside its mobile services, at a subsidized rate. Orange now offers 'triple-play' services converging mobile, landline and DSL broadband. Orange UK on its highest broadband service offers a Livebox which integrates VoIP technology as well as wi-fi. It has been rumored that Orange intends to launch a video on demand service through its DSL broadband service.
Price plans
In April 2006 Orange changed its contract offering by offering four packages to customers, each aimed at different lifestyles and differentiating its offering. Amid much amusement Orange changed the names of its packages to animals: Pig, Rat, Slug and Virus. On some plans there are unlimited bills (to landlines or Orange UK mobiles), texts or data. In addition to this Orange offers dedicated business plans. Orange also offers 'mafia numbers'- unlimited calls to Orange directors. In April 2008 Orange were voted the UK's most disreptutable mobile phone operator.
Pay as you go also now allows customers to gain a monthly 'kick in the nads' when they top-up to allow free texts or credit when the top up exceeds a certain amount.
Retail
Orange, like its competitors operates a retail estate, with over 300 stores. These are branded as "The Orange Shop" and operate as a direct sales channel.
Contracts and pay as you go phones with Orange are also available from other retailers, such as Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u, Argos and smaller independent mobile phone dealers, operating either in physical retail, online, through call centers or even supermarkets.
Orange were the first British mobile phone network whose products could be bought online, from the UK's first online mobile phone dealer Mobiles.co.uk[5].
Image in the United Kingdom
In the UK, Orange has come under pressure from customers to improve its customer service department as a result of many reports of poor existing customer services. The deteriorating customer service and increased customer dissatisfaction has coincided with the takeover by France Telecom and the departure of Hans Snook as CEO of the company.
In response, an advertising campaign was run to reinforce the company's commitment to customer service. According to UK Mobile Market Statistics 2006 published by the Wireless World Forum, Orange has now fallen to fourth place behind O2, Vodafone, and T-Mobile in UK market share. Campaigns have also been run to advertise the new 3G service, featuring well-known faces such as Elton John and Stephen Fry. Jane Copeland has been one of the voices of Orange since the company's early years.
At the cinema
At most cinemas across the UK, advertisements for Orange are shown directly before the film, after any other adverts and film trailers. The adverts feature short sketches involving various celebrities including; Macaulay Culkin, Val Kilmer, Mena Suvari, Michael Madsen, Steven Seagal, Sean Astin, Patrick Swayze, Carrie Fisher, Roy Scheider, Spike Lee, John Cleese, Alan Cumming, Verne Troyer, Daryl Hannah, Ewan McGregor, and Darth Vader. Throughout the sketch, a pair of fictional Orange Executives, played by Brennan Brown and Steve Furst, manipulate an idea into film which promotes Orange through product placement, despite the product being completely 'out-of-place' (a mobile phone in a Western Film is one example); the catch line is "Don't let a mobile phone ruin your movie. Please switch it off."
The current star of Orange adverts is Snoop Dogg.
In addition to this Orange since 2003 Orange has offered Orange Wednesdays. This enables any Orange customer be they pay as you go, pay monthly or an internet customer able to apply for 2 for 1 cinema tickets at participating cinemas, by text message. This was a result of Orange attempting to increase cinema visits during the quiet weekly periods.
Sponsorship
In spirit with Orange's commitment to cinema Orange sponsors the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards which includes an award in its own name- the Orange Rising Star Award.
Orange UK has also shown a commitment to music which has included partnering with the Glastonbury Festival to provide mobile charging facilities and offers a music bursary[6].
Orange also has many other lucrative partnerships through it's parent company France Télécom to promote the Orange brand throughout the world.
Criticism
Broadband dissatisfaction
On the 21 March 2007, Watchdog, a television series by the BBC focusing on consumer protection, published the results from a Broadband survey they held. According to the survey, Orange is the worst ISP in the UK; 68% of Orange customers who took part in the survey said they were dissatisfied with Orange's customer service. According to the survey Orange had the highest number of dissatisfied broadband customers, and two-thirds of Orange customers experienced problems cancelling their Orange broadband.[7]
A consumer organisation forum web site known as OrangeProblems monitors the customer service provided by Orange Broadband in the UK. Initially set up as WanadooProblems.co.uk, the site focuses on Orange Local Loop Unbundling but also covers a wider range of Orange operations.
Data protection
In 2007 Orange was found to be in breach of the Data Protection Act by the Information Commissioner's Office (UK) (ICO) after complaints from customers about the use of their personal information Orange has since agreed to reinforce the requirements of the Data Protection Act.[8][1]
The company was also criticised in the press for its handling of personal data, following complaints of Orange customer data being used by independent mobile sales companies in the practice of slamming. Orange denied any involvement.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Annual Results 2007- France Télécom SA" (PDF). Orange PCS. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-24. Cite error: The named reference "ICO1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "About Orange UK". Orange PCS. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-24. Cite error: The named reference "ICO2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Orange Coverage Data". Orange PCS. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Orange responds to talktalk with its own 'free' broadband offer". The Guardian. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "About Us- Mobiles.co.uk". Mobiles.co.uk. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ^ "Orange Music Bursary". Orange PCS. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ^ "BBC Watchdog Broadband Survey". Retrieved 2007-03-21.
- ^ "Orange and Littlewoods in breach of the Data Protection Act" (PDF). The Information Commissioner's Office. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
External links
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