Orange days from major tariff refresh

Exclusive Orange is just days away from revamping its pay-monthly packages, Reg Hardware has learned.

On 31 March, Orange will "refresh" its Panther, Racoon and Dolphin packages, and bring back Canary.

The mobile phone company would not comment on the changes, but detailed documents seen by Reg Hardware reveal all the imminent alternations.

Panther, currently pitched by Orange as its "best for email and talk" will be aimed at "digital adults", a group who want to calls, texts, email and internet access in abundance.

Orange will offer 18-month contracts with monthly fees running from £35 to £80 and include unlimited texts, push email, mobile internet and Orange Maps satnav route guidance. Two-year contracts are £5 cheaper per month. Airtime ranges from 400 to 3000 minutes.

For a further fiver a month, Panthers can have Sky Sports and News on their handsets, or the Orange Games Zone.

Dolphin will be aimed at social networkers - "digital tribe customers" is how Orange describes them - with prices ranging from £25 to £40 a month on an 18-month contract, or £24-35 on a two-year tie-in. Bundled minutes range from 100 to 800, depending on the price you pay each month. Orange will also include unlimited texts, unlimited email and up to 500MB of internet data.

They have the same £5-per-month options as Panthers, with Orange Maps satnav added as a bolt-on.

Raccoon and Canary remain focused on voice callers, with the former favouring people who mostly call to landlines - unlimited landline calls are included - while Canary subscribers get unlimited texts. Canary is replacing the current version of Dolphin, essentially. All the above add-ons and extras are here offered as £5-a-month options.

Both animals have 18-month contracts running from £25 to £40 with 200-900 bundled minutes. Take out a two-year contract and the monthly fee falls by a fiver. ®