Orange launches combined mobile, VoIP and broadband service

Posted on 1 Jun 2006 at 10:55

Orange, best known as a mobile telco, is the latest company to jump on the 'triple play' bandwagon of offering a single package of broadband, mobile and landline communications for a single fixed rate.

The deal consists of providing 'free' broadband for anyone who signs up to a £30 per month mobile phone package. Orange says there is no connection fee and the broadband package, which previously cost £17.99 a month from Wanadoo, includes up to 8MB broadband and a free wireless modem. Orange will also supply Wireless & Talk, its VoIP landline services that offer free evening and weekend calls to other UK landlines.

In addition, for an extra six pounds per month, customers can sign up to the new Orange Anytime package which gives them free calls to UK landlines at any time.

The initiative follows the acquisition by the company's parent France Telecom of Wanadoo. In fact, Wanadoo - previously known as FreeServe - is changing its name to Orange to reflect the new combined offering. As of today, the Wanadoo and Orange web sites will be merged. The strategy will also include Equant and Etrali - combining all the Internet and business-to-business arms of France Telecom.

Orange will become the flagship brand worldwide as it changes from just a mobile telecoms company into a total communications provider forming the basis of France Telecom's NExT strategy for integrated telecommunications.

The so-called 'convergence' strategy is becoming all the rage among telecoms providers as local loop unbundling gathers pace in the UK.

The Orange announcement follows the new Carphone Warehouse Talk Talk package that was announced last month. However, strangely enough for a company that made its mark through mobile phones, the Talk Talk offer is a combined broadband and landline service with no mobile element. BSkyB is also expected to introduce a combined satellite TV, broadband and telephony service in the next few months while cable TV provider NTL is going one better by offering a 'quadruple play' service (four-play, as Sir Richard Branson dubs it) combining pay TV, broadband, phone and mobile phone when it finalises the acquisition of Virgin Mobile.

Author: Steve Malone