Introduction to Orange

In addition to its global mobile network, Orange is the biggest internet service provider in Europe. It has over 10m subscribers across the UK, France, Poland, Equatorial Guinea, Spain, Senegal, Slovakia and Switzerland. Up until 2006, Orange broadband operated in the UK under the name Wanadoo. The name was changed to simplify the branding.

Over the last three years, Orange has become a triple play provider in many countries, including the UK, offering mobile, broadband and landline services.

Orange currently does not offer fibre optic broadband.

Orange history

Orange is one of the UK's most visible brands. Though mainly known as a mobile phone provider, Orange also offers home, business and mobile broadband services, as well as landline rental.

Orange was founded in 1994 by Hutchison Telecom. The orange colour was chosen because it's said to have a strong Feng Shui element. The square logo was used to differentiate it from the citrus fruit.

In 2001, France Telecom acquired Orange plc and merged it with its existing mobile operations.

Orange has extensive 3G coverage in the south of England, but it gets slightly patchier as you go further north. Their 2G network covers more than 99 per cent of the UK, so you should be able to go online almost anywhere, albeit not at top speeds.

At the moment Orange has joined forces with T-Mobile to form Everything Everywhere, which means that Orange users can use T-Mobile's network where the former doesn't reach and vice versa. The firms are planning a full merger soon but have not confirmed whether or not they will stick with Everything Everywhere or decide to completely rebrand themselves.

Why Orange broadband may not be right for you

If you are a heavy broadband user, you might want to opt for fibre services which Orange doesn't currently offer. Depending on where you live, the actual speed you get may be significantly slower. Broadband speed depends on a number of factors, including the quality of the wiring and your distance from the phone exchange. The older the wiring and the greater the distance, the slower the speed. If you are a heavy broadband user, or if you download a lot of music or films, you may find that the provider's service is too slow for your needs.

Orange services

Orange offers four broadband packages, each with a maximum speed of 20Mbps.

The difference is in the monthly download allowance and the type of wireless router (modem). The premium package comes with free line rental.

Orange's routers let you connect up to 6 PCs in your house. You can also connect a printer, so you can print remotely from any room in the house.

Livebox, as it is also known, also lets you make free calls to any Orange mobile. This is a great feature if you have family and friends on that network. It saves you having to use minutes from your mobile contract. You can also make free calls to 30 international destinations over the internet. The quality of the connection is the same as using a standard landline.

Security

All three packages come with McAfee Privacy Service. This software protects your computer from online viruses and spyware. It also has parental controls so you can limit the types of sites your kids can visit without having to constantly look over their shoulders.

Mobile broadband

Orange offers a variety of mobile broadband packages. An example is package which comes with a 3GB monthly download cap, which is enough to send 2,000 emails, browse the web for 100 hours and download over 200 music tracks. As long as you don't try to download full-length films, it's unlikely that you will exceed the limit.

Orange is not for the commitment-phobic. You will have to sign a contract for a minimum of 18 months, but you get the dongle free.