Orange goes unlimited

New tariffs from UK mobile operator Orange add unlimited access to specific services of the cellco's animal-themed mobile packages.

Acknowledging competition from T-Mobile's Flext package, Orange is set to introduce a top price for each package (that's dolphin, canary, raccoon and panther) with unlimited texts, calls and internet browsing depending on the creature of choice.

Dolphins will get to text as much as they like for 35 quid, canaries get evening and weekend calls thrown in for £40, raccoons will be able to call landlines as much as they like for £35, while panthers get both internet browsing and text messaging bundled for £75 a month. You'll need to sign up to an 18 month contract to take advantage of these prices.

Orange assures us that unlimited really does mean unlimited and there'll be no "fair use" or other capping on customers making calls, sending texts, or using the internet.

Unlimited offerings do have a history of over-subscription, and it will be interesting to see if Orange can sustain this, but it is certainly committed to it, with an advertising budget expected to be around £5m to make sure everyone knows about "customers' natural behaviour links to either raccoon, dolphin, panther or canary", as Orange puts it.

The changes to the Orange tariffs also bring together the cellco's web, telesales and retail offerings: something many operators are looking to do in an attempt to reduce the bewildering range of packages their billing systems currently have to cope with. ®