Broadband News & Mobile Broadband News

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.

With pressure building on UK broadband providers to increase their broadband speeds, Orange is set to trial 20Mbps broadband using just a few select customers.

If the trial works, customers could benefit from 20Mbps broadband speeds for the price of just 8Mbps – with Orange providing customers with a dedicated microsite and specialist support.

The Director of Broadband and Home at Orange, Asif Aziz, said:

“This trial is an important step in enabling us to offer up to 20Mbps home broadband to consumers across our network. It is also testament to our ongoing commitment to evolve our fixed broadband service and ensure we offer customers a truly reliable user experience.”

So far BT are set to invest £1.5bn in a new fibre optic broadband network which will offer speeds up to 100Mbps. It’s rival, Virgin Media, are already offering speeds up to 50Mbps and have promised to upgrade over 2 million customers on 2Mbps to up to 10Mbps absolutely free.

It’s certainly encouraging to see many of the top UK broadband providers increasing their broadband speeds and means that Lord Carter’s pledge to offer high speed internet access by 2010 is definitely underway.

Orange Home and Mobile Broadband is now available as a bundle for just £20 per month at orange.co.uk/20.

Orange Home Broadband (known as Orange Home Starter) provides up to 8Mb wireless broadband in & around the home and comes with a 10Gb monthly download usage allowance. Evening & weekend phone calls to UK landlines is also included using a home phone.

Orange Mobile Broadband (known as Orange Internet Everywhere) offers the ability to browse the web and check emails using your laptop and the supplied Orange USB dongle from just about anywhere in the UK. You’ll enjoy up to 3.6Mb mobile broadband download speeds together with 3Gb’s of monthly data usage.

This Orange Home & Mobile Broadband bundle package is available on an 18 month contract and represents a saving of £90.

It is important to note that this bundle can only be ordered via Orange Telesales on 0800 072 4136 – It can not be ordered online.

Give Orange a call on the number above for more information & to order, or alternatively, read our full review of Orange Broadband packages and bundles here.