Orange launches new mobile broadband offer

Orange has launched a new, cheaper mobile broadband offer making it more cost effective to go online within the European Union.

The new €2 for 2MB price from Orange was already available in Spain and Romania and has now been extended for customers in the UK, Poland, France, Slovakia, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and Moldova.

Commenting on the news, Orange’s Olaf Swantee said: “For roughly the price of a cup of coffee, we are helping our customers keep doing what they’re doing – it’s not designed for heavier users who use the mobile internet to download music or games but for everyday customers who want to be able to check their emails, tweet or upload their pictures to social networking sites, anywhere they may be within the EU”.

According to Orange, 2MB’s of data will typically enable a user to view numerous Twitter messages, do some general browsing and access up to 100 emails. It’s not sufficient for downloading and streaming.

Orange will also let its French iPhone customers access the web from their phones while roaming at a rate of €5 per day for 10MB of data and it intends to extend this offer to other countries in the future.

Mike Wilson, mobile and broadband manager at moneysupermarket.com, said:”Using the internet on your mobile in Europe can cost up to £5 per megabyte so the offer of 2MB for €2 is a good deal for Orange customers. 2MB is enough to keep up with Twitter, check your emails and do some browsing, but you will need to avoid any downloading or streaming. This offer only applies to mobiles though so Orange dongle users will need to be wary of using them abroad.

“Calls can also be more expensive in Europe. Before jetting off be sure to check with your operator how much calls and texts will cost and if there is a cheaper international tariff available to you while you’re away. People should also be aware that even on international tariffs, operators will still usually charge for receiving calls as well as making them.”

Comparing mobile roaming costs in Europe, figures from moneysupermarket.com show:

• Three – £1.25 per MB
• O2 – £3 per MB
• Orange – €2 for 2MB
• T-Mobile – £1.50 per MB
• Vodafone – up to £4.99 for first 25MB
  £4.99 for each additional 25MB
• Virgin – £5 per MB

One of the issues with mobile broadband is that customers exceed their mobile data download limit and then are faced with hefty bills. Orange will send customers a text message warning them they are approaching their 2Mb daily data limit. They will then have the option to buy another 2MB’s of data.