Broadband News & Mobile Broadband News

Orange (orange.co.uk) are offering a free Mother’s Day voucher (not flowers) to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday the 14th March 2010.

New customers ordering and connecting any Orange phone or home or mobile broadband package by the 17th March can get a free beauty treatment voucher that Mum will love.

The ‘Orange BABTAC Treat Mum Beauty Voucher’ can be redeemed for one of two offers, either a mini beauty treatment, or two for the price of one on any beauty treatment.

Available at selected salons across the country, Mum’s will be able to choose from a range of indulgent treatments covering manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing and massages.

The voucher is valid until the 14th December 2010 with all treatments needing to be booked in advance quoting the reference: ‘BABTAC Treat Mum Beauty Voucher’.

It’s worth noting that as the free beauty treatment voucher arrives with the Orange product purchased, there’s no guarantee that it will arrive in time for Mother’s Day this Sunday.

Therefore, as a back up, we advise customers to order some Mothers Day Flowers online aswell.

Orange (orange.co.uk) has launched a FREE 20Mb home broadband offer as part of an exciting revamp of its home broadband packages and price plans.

The download speeds of its four home broadband packages (including the new Ultra package) have been boosted from 8Mbps to up to 20Mbps, while download usage limits have been scrapped – though a fair usage policy applies.

Existing Orange mobile customers and those new customers opting for a home broadband and Orange pay montly mobile bundle are being offered the cheapest broadband prices with Orange Max now free for the first 3 months.

The Orange Max package provides unlimited download speeds up to 20Mpbs together with a free wireless router, plus evening and weekend phone calls to UK landlines. The price reverts to just £6.50 a month after the first 3 months.

Non Orange mobile customers can also benefit with broadband packages starting from just £7 a month for speeds up to 20Mbps.

The Director of Broadband and Home for Orange UK, Asif Aziz said: “We’re really pleased to be making download speeds of up to 20 Meg available as standard – regardless of the home broadband package a customer chooses”.

Aziz continues: “With these faster speeds, built around price plans which really do offer value for money, customers can make the most of the internet and enjoy a faster and more seamless experience when going online”.

Orange’s move to offer broadband speeds up to 20Mbps brings it in line with similar speed offerings from the likes of BT, BE, O2 and Virgin Media.

The speed boost and new price plans will be supported by a major multi-channel advertising campaign using the strap line ‘No More Speeding Fines’.

Readers can find further information at the orange.co.uk website or our Orange Home Broadband review page.

Orange have confirmed they will not be pursuing their interest in purchasing the assets of Project Kangaroo, the on demand broadband TV service created by BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV.

Earlier in the year it was reported that Orange were in talks to buy Project Kangaroo following the Competition Commission’s decision to block the creators from launching the project themselves.

There have been several companies interested in buying Kangaroo’s assets with Orange being one of the major potential buyers involved.

Orange’s parent company, France Telecom, said, “We can confirm that we are not pursuing our interest in the catch up TV service Kangaroo. After in-depth due diligence, we concluded that it was unlikely that an outcome which benefited France Telecom’s Orange operations would be met.”

It has been said by a source close to Project Kangaroo’s owners that the price of the assets has put several buyers off. The source said, “There were two major bidders but the technology is not cheap. It would be a multi-million pound deal which isn’t the most tempting prospect in the current climate.”

With Kangaroo’s future looking uncertain, the creators are now said to be in talks with Hulu, an American video on demand service that is backed by Disney, News Corp and NBC Universal. They are hoping to launch a UK version of the Hulu platform later in the year.

After consistently coming near the bottom when it comes to broadband customer service, Orange has hired a new Vice President of Customer Service to turn their fortunes around.

Jackie O’Leary arrives from the Carphone Warehouse broadband business, TalkTalk, following stints at AOL, O2, Vodafone and T-Mobile.

When talking about her new position in the company, Orange’s CEO, Tom Alexander, said, “With over 20 years experience in the mobile, broadband and other industries, Jackie is key to us hitting our ambition of becoming the UK’s best-loved communications brand. She is a massive asset to the team”.

Orange is hoping that O’Leary will be able to turn their broadband sector around using her vast experience. In fact, she was well known for helping the Carphone Warehouse through their recent TalkTalk customer service crisis – and now Orange is hoping that she can do the same for them.

The need to respond quickly to customer enquiries was also addressed by Alexander. He said, “In a world that appears to be changing ever-more quickly, we need to be more agile, we need to respond quicker and we need to be better set up for the challenges that lies ahead.”

One thing is for sure, with O’Leary’s credentials the future is looking ‘brighter’ for Orange and its consumers. After frequently coming out last in surveys conducted over the past few years, Orange consumers can now look forward to seeing a positive change in broadband customer service.

Mobile communications provider Orange has confirmed it is examining the possibility of buying the broadband TV technology developed by Project Kangaroo.

Project Kangaroo is the Broadband TV joint venture between ITV, the BBC and Channel 4 that has been stopped by the Competition Commission, despite over £20 million pounds of investment.

With the assets of the company now being sold to recover some of the investment, Orange is one of two companies in talks to buy the technology behind it.

A spokesman for Orange said, “We are examining this company and we see of course that it could be interesting. Nothing has been decided but we can confirm we are examining it.”

Should Orange end up buying the Project Kangaroo technology, it is thought that the company will use it to expand its broadband TV service throughout Europe. In particular, they are planning to use it in France where there are currently more than one million subscribers to its Orange TV service.

A France Telecom spokesman said: “On Orange TV we are very cautious about what we are saying in the UK, but it could help us in developing more quickly Orange TV projects in France.”

Orange had been looking to launch Orange TV within the UK, however due to the current economic downturn, its plans were put on hold.

A trial consumer group was reportedly ready to test the new service in the UK but they have now been advised that the project has been temporarily cancelled.