Orange Announces Plans to Offer iPhone in UK

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/09/28/orange-announces-plans-to-offer-iphone-in-uk/)

Wireless carrier Orange today issued a brief announcement (http://newsroom.orange.co.uk/2009/09/28/orange-to-sell-iphone-in-uk/) revealing that it has struck a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the United Kingdom, ending rival carrier O2's iPhone exclusivity in that country. Details on pricing and a launch date will be announced at a later date.Orange, which has the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK than any other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange direct channels including Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orange telesales channels, as well as selected high street partners. A pre-registration site for customers to log their interest has been launched at www.Orange.co.uk/iPhone (http://www.orange.co.uk/iphone)Several (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/07/15/apple-to-break-o2-iphone-exclusivity-in-the-uk-but-not-for-the-3gs/) reports (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/08/05/o2-iphone-exclusivity-in-the-uk-to-end-october-9th/) surfaced in recent months claiming that Apple would be ending its exclusive arrangement with O2 and that Orange and T-Mobile would most likely be the primary bidders to begin offering the iPhone there.

Article Link: Orange Announces Plans to Offer iPhone in UK (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/09/28/orange-announces-plans-to-offer-iphone-in-uk/)

[ditzy]

This is great news, I'm looking forward to moving to orange.

[MacUser09]

Damn! I was really hoping Vodafone UK would be next on the list to get the iPhone.
As much as I would like to get one, I am very happy with Vodafone, and will not change airtime providers.
Sigh! Maybe in the future.

[paulcdb]

If I though orange would be able to unlock my 3gs I'd move when my contract ends in December but I bet o2 are the only ones who can and doubt they will change there policy :(

[crazytrain]

The phrase "out of the frying pan..." springs to mind. My experience with Orange is pretty atrocious to say the least. Was also hoping for anyone other then them to replace O2. Ah well, at least it might drive prices down....

[Porco]

Great news for me because I'm already on Orange and haven't got an iPhone yet... this might be the last thing that finally gets me to buy one. Also, if the merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK goes ahead it should mean the coverage is pretty decent, hopefully.

I still think Apple should let everyone sell them, but at least it's some kind of progress.

[fastbite]

Choice! Weird...

[fabian9]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/09/28/orange-announces-plans-to-offer-iphone-in-uk/)

Wireless carrier Orange today issued a brief announcement (http://newsroom.orange.co.uk/2009/09/28/orange-to-sell-iphone-in-uk/) revealing that it has struck a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the United Kingdom, ending rival carrier O2's iPhone exclusivity in that country. Details on pricing and a launch date will be announced at a later date.Several (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/07/15/apple-to-break-o2-iphone-exclusivity-in-the-uk-but-not-for-the-3gs/) reports (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/08/05/o2-iphone-exclusivity-in-the-uk-to-end-october-9th/) surfaced in recent months claiming that Apple would be ending its exclusive arrangement with O2 and that Orange and T-Mobile would most likely be the primary bidders to begin offering the iPhone there.

Article Link: Orange Announces Plans to Offer iPhone in UK (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/09/28/orange-announces-plans-to-offer-iphone-in-uk/)

So glad to hear this. Hopefully it'll come to fruition before my contract runs out in March 2010 as it should push contract prices down significantly. :)

[Dagless]

Maybe if this was about the Zune or Eminem it would have made the front page. It's fairly major news after all ;).

I hope this event brings prices down, and I hope it winds up on Vodafone too. Good times ahead!

[julianna1973]

I wonder if it means it will be available on Tmobile since Orange is supposed to be merging with them or will that be way down the line?

[Fruiteatingbear]

Anyone know if it will be possible to move UK iPhone's currently locked to O2 to Orange? (without the nearly monthly upgrade re-jailbreak, re unlock routine)

[ukcolinr]

I was also hoping for Vodafone! I hope that future handset releases will at least be on o2 and Orange and not exclusive to Orange. Orange's coverage (and T-Mobiles also) in my area is appalling, poor 2G and no 3G, I was an Orange customer for about 6 years being told every year at renewal that they had plans to install a new mast in my area, that mast still is not present!

Please :apple: Don't make the iPhone exclusive to Orange :) lol

[Willis]

This could be interesting... I will move providers if they offer a lower contract or more for my money. I guess its wait and see. My current iPhone contract expires in January '10 so I'll hold off till the next version anyway. Let the dust settle and go from there

[NightFox]

This could be interesting... I will move providers if they offer a lower contract or more for my money. I guess its wait and see. My current iPhone contract expires in January '10 so I'll hold off till the next version anyway. Let the dust settle and go from there

Have to say, I think us O2 contract customers in the UK get a pretty good deal already compared to much of the rest of the world, and on the two occasions I've had to use O2 customer service, it's been nothing short of excellent.

I too originally thought "great" when I saw Orange were also getting the iPhone, but I don't think it's actually going to make any difference for me personally, unless they undercut O2 massively on the contracts which I don't see them doing. Still, a bit of competition maybe...

[Pagemakers]

Thank god.

I can’t wait to buy myself out of my 6 month old o2 contract.

They are well and truly awful

The worst phone operator I have ever been with.

[Jowl]

The competition can only be good - even if Orange's customer service sucks.

If they offer me (some) free tethering, they could well tempt me over in January.

Although I'll probably wait for the next iPhone model before upgrading me thinks.

[Bevz]

I wonder if this means O2 will have to unlock your phone when your contract expires.. They've been using the excuse that they're the exclusive carrier to refuse to unlock....

[KP Nuts]

Damn! I was really hoping Vodafone UK would be next on the list to get the iPhone.
As much as I would like to get one, I am very happy with Vodafone, and will not change airtime providers.
Sigh! Maybe in the future.

Work for Vodafone much?

[mattyb240]

WOOOOHOOOOO thank god hopefully my discounts will rollover when they announce it! Bring on may when my current runs out.

[OllyW]

...Orange's coverage (and T-Mobiles also) in my area is appalling, poor 2G and no 3G...

A lot of people say exactly the same thing about O2. More people will now be able to get 3G coverage with an iPhone, let's hope they can get the iPhone on all the UK networks and make everyone happy.

[ukcolinr]

My personal opinion is o2 are OK... Nothing more... I very much dislike how they charge for everything abroad, I travel a lot with work so this is an issue for me...

They charge if you don't answer to re-direct your call to your voicemail (even if no message left) - Vodafone don't do this...
They charge you to disable your voicemail outside the UK despite the recorded greeting saying there is no charge for this call (no need to do this on Vodafone as not charged for voicemail in first place)
They charge you to call Customer Services outside the UK (again, Vodafone don't do this)
Their customer service agents on the phone seem to have a no can do attitude! I've found you always get a better result emailing, but obviously there is a delay involved in contacting them that way.

Personally I don't see that the iPhone going to Orange is going to resolve any of my above complaints because none of them are issues exclusive to the iPhone but o2's product offering as a whole :(

In their favour they have the best coverage in my area (except Vodafone haha!)

Just a few more of my thoughts :)

Colin

[Bevz]

The Orange website says tariffs to be issues soon.... If they offer unlimited texts on a £35 a month contract they've got my money... I can't see them offering the same as O2, they'll want to undercut them to steal all their existing customers (that's the yard stick most mobile phone companies measure themselves against), so fingers crossed....!

[ibosie]

Have to say, I think us O2 contract customers in the UK get a pretty good deal already compared to much of the rest of the world, and on the two occasions I've had to use O2 customer service, it's been nothing short of excellent.

I too originally thought "great" when I saw Orange were also getting the iPhone, but I don't think it's actually going to make any difference for me personally, unless they undercut O2 massively on the contracts which I don't see them doing. Still, a bit of competition maybe...

I'm with you. O2 has been an excellent partner for Apple, adopting every new feature from the word go, providing the username bypass to avoid image compression, having some of the best plans in the world, and, for a mobile phone outfit excellent customer services. The network is congested now so I'm looking forward to Orange having some of it.

[cervaro]

Have to say I was hoping for Vodafone too as they are the only network that I've had near perfect coverage from.

[j_maddison]

Thank god.

I can’t wait to buy myself out of my 6 month old o2 contract.

They are well and truly awful

The worst phone operator I have ever been with.

They're not perfect I agree, but I've never been on a network that was a shockingly bad for customer service as Orange. Mind you I've never tried 3 lol

Still competition is always good, I just hope these phones will be unlocked. I could get an upgrade through a family member, and pop my sim (o2) into it. Happy days! :)

[BongoBanger]

This is great news, I'm looking forward to moving to orange.

I think that's the first time I've heard someone say that! ;)

[OllyW]

...and, for a mobile phone outfit excellent customer services.

Some may not agree with you on this point. :mad:

[jmcguckin]

so remind me again why other countries are offering multiple carriers for the iPhone (Orange/O2 in the U.K., for instance), while here in the U.S. we're stuck with AT&T? I realize there are contracts involved, but I'll stick with my Razr on Verizon's network (0 issues with it in the 7yrs I've been with them) vs. switching to AT&T solely for the iPhone... the day Apple break this exclusivity thing with AT&T and begin to offer the iPhone on other carriers is the day I begin to strongly consider purchasing one- and I'm content waiting until that happens.

I'm still glad for those of you guys in the U.K. and other countries who are at least presented with a choice of carriers, but we're really getting a raw deal here in the U.S.. ok, I'm done griping now.

[j_maddison]

The Orange website says tariffs to be issues soon.... If they offer unlimited texts on a £35 a month contract they've got my money... I can't see them offering the same as O2, they'll want to undercut them to steal all their existing customers (that's the yard stick most mobile phone companies measure themselves against), so fingers crossed....!

i think you're spot on, if there's one thing Orange are very good at it's aggressive tariffs.

Competition is definitely something that's needed to get O2 to improve their deals

[crisito]

Could this mean factory unlocked iPhones in the UK just like they are in other countries where there are more than one carrier (Hong Kong, Italy etc.)

[Beardy man]

Just thinking aloud here...

If Orange charge the same as O2 (I'm on a £35 a month iPhone contract at present which covers calls, texts AND unlimited data, and I presume O2 make some profit out of that), then as Orange are a French company that also works in the UK, if they were to offer a months unlimited data roaming in France for an EXTRA £35 per month they should easily be able to make profit out of that (rather than O2's £3 per megabyte rip off).

Any one like to suggest why they couldn't offer such a data roaming deal (without using the word "greed")?

[ibosie]

Some may not agree with you on this point. :mad:

I have no doubt but this is true of any customer services. For my part O2 have been very helpful and obliging.

[Pagemakers]

I’ve been on T-Mod, Orange and o2 and in my choice of preference I would pick, Tmobile, Orange and lastly o2.

In fact I was quite sad when I had to leave Tmobile. Crazy I know!

[uptherighttree]

i'm with Vodafone at the moment and as of today I'm allowed to upgrade. I nearly went for the N97 but then started reading about the N900 and now Orange is getting the iPhone (hopefully on a better package than O2, I'm a huge texter) I'm so undecided as to what phone to get.

Do I wait and go for the Nokia N900 next month or wait until December when hopefully the iPhone is on Orange


choices choices grrrr

[Padraig]

Hopefully, this means that O2 Ireland's exclusivity is at an end as well. Their price gouging iPhone plans are a disgrace.

[davidbrummy]

These exclusive contracts between handset providers and the networks should be stopped. They are truly bad for the user.

I hope we see the end of the AT&T one soon in the US. However to make this a reality we will need a CDMA iPhone since the only other GSM carrier is T-Mobile and they are too small to tempt people away from AT&T.

[julianna1973]

i'm with Vodafone at the moment and as of today I'm allowed to upgrade. I nearly went for the N97 but then started reading about the N900 and now Orange is getting the iPhone (hopefully on a better package than O2, I'm a huge texter) I'm so undecided as to what phone to get.

Do I wait and go for the Nokia N900 next month or wait until December when hopefully the iPhone is on Orange


choices choices grrrr

What makes you think its December?

[sk8mash]

This is great news. I was planning on moving to orange as there sim only plans are very good value. I'll wait and see what they offer us for the iPhone.

[Doctor Q]

so remind me again why other countries are offering multiple carriers for the iPhone (Orange/O2 in the U.K., for instance), while here in the U.S. we're stuck with AT&T?
We've assumed that "being stuck with AT&T" was temporary in the U.S., but this news is the confirmation we want that Apple is indeed willing to let competitors fight to offer us our iPhone service. Rather than being a question of "if and when" for competition in the U.S., it's looking more and more like it's a question only of "when".

[yorkshire]

I have a PAYG iPhone on o2, and apart from the extortionate initial price to by the thing, the service seems to be quite good. Not great coverage, but the tariffs seem to be ok. Definately better than when I had an Orange mobile.

[Hattig]

This would solve my problem with the iPhone being on O2 in this country.

My contract with Three is up in December, so I will be looking at the Orange deal quite intently.

Three have been okay, good value certainly. I had hoped the Pre would be sold by them, but that's O2 only. Will see if they have some decent Android phones at the time first, but Orange have a good reputation, the merger with T-Mobile should give good coverage, and the cinema deal for Wednesdays is a nice bonus. £30/m would entice me.

[declandio]

... Orange was fantastic when they first launched. Their service was top for years- I remember many happy years of free sms and funky (for the times) Nokia phones. Sadly though, they are nowhere near as good as they used to be. Ever since they were bought out by France Telecom they have been... ****.

[dav146]

My 3G contract expires in Jan 2010 - I also have a 3GS (32Gb) that I paid £540 for in July.

The coverage in my house is absolutley diabolical - and I would switch to Orange / T-Mobile in an instant!

The ONLY thing that will stop me moving across is if O2 start offering the femtocell service that has been trialed recently.

If Apple / O2 / Orange don't offer an unlocking service I know that I am more than capable of Jailbreaking and unlocking it myself - a bit of a pain in the ass, but I am more than capable. The only reason I am still sat with O2 at the moment is because of the free minutes I get with my contract!

:apple:

[muldul]

Dam, i am on t-mobile, hopefully, when the merger finalises (around when my contract end lol) the iPhone will be available on t-mobile as well, or i may be moving to orange. I hate o2, their signal in my area sucks, so i will be very happy with orange, also my college common room doesn't get service or 3g on any providers aside from o2 and orange so it is all good.

[emulator]

I wonder if it means it will be available on Tmobile since Orange is supposed to be merging with them or will that be way down the line?
probably, tmobile is the iphone carrier on most part of the continent. with the merge, will orange keep its name?

[cal6n]

i'm with Vodafone at the moment and as of today I'm allowed to upgrade. I nearly went for the N97 but then started reading about the N900 and now Orange is getting the iPhone (hopefully on a better package than O2, I'm a huge texter) I'm so undecided as to what phone to get.

Do I wait and go for the Nokia N900 next month or wait until December when hopefully the iPhone is on Orange


choices choices grrrr

There's a good chance (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/sep/28/orange-uk-iphone-vodafone) that Vodafone will be picking it up too.

[TheBritishBloke]

Infact, I'm not too bothered, I'm glad they chose Orange or T-Mobile. They're both good networks. Personally, I'm happy with O2. They have UK customer care, I've only ever been out of 3G signal ONCE (Cornwall :P) And I'm overall happy with their service.

Lets hope Orange don't go and screw you guys over with prices!

[sab150]

amazing news, i spoke to a manager at orange afew days ago confirming the iphone was def coming and should be here end of october/early november at the latest... cant wait! :D

im a loyal orange customer so get pretty tweaked tarifs! will the same discount apply for the iphone if i was to take a second contract out?

[iSimx]

I think this is excellent news :) although I'm happy with o2, with the exception of a few things, including internet tethering.... Hopefully the competition with orange will improve matters.

[londonmystery]

Being an ex o2 employee and having iphones since they first came out I can't fault the customer service. However, I live in central London and I don't even get a 3g signal within 1 mile of my house, sometimes not even edge. We have a spare phone in the house on Orange which always has 3g so I for 1 will probably switch. Plus the fact that the tariffs on Orange have always been very competitive. :):)

[iBookG4user]

This is very interesting, hopefully something similar happens in the US. Competition is always good for carriers and may lead to lower prices! :)

[a.gomez]

nice... this will help get the phone to more people who want it. let them compete for the iphone users.

[AAPLaday]

... Orange was fantastic when they first launched. Their service was top for years- I remember many happy years of free sms and funky (for the times) Nokia phones. Sadly though, they are nowhere near as good as they used to be. Ever since they were bought out by France Telecom they have been... ****.

This happens a lot with companies. They get bought out and the new owner sucks the life out of the customers. I have my broadband through eclipse who were one of THE best ISP's back in the day. Low and behold what happens they get taken over, the new owners keep the name but the tariffs and customer service change for the worse. Luckily i haven't been affected much by the change of ownership as im not a big downloader and i rarely have to contact them for help but 2 of my mates who i convinced to join them have had nothing but problems since the takeover by Kingston.

[iphones4evry1]

Another step as iPhone slowly takes over the world. :apple:

[LFCRules]

Been looking to upgrade my 2 year old phone on Orange, and this is as good a reason as any. Just got to wait for the tarrifs, O2 tarrifs have put my off since they got the iPhone, hopefully Orange will guzump them :D

[NightFox]

Just thinking aloud here...

If Orange charge the same as O2 (I'm on a £35 a month iPhone contract at present which covers calls, texts AND unlimited data, and I presume O2 make some profit out of that), then as Orange are a French company that also works in the UK, if they were to offer a months unlimited data roaming in France for an EXTRA £35 per month they should easily be able to make profit out of that (rather than O2's £3 per megabyte rip off).

Any one like to suggest why they couldn't offer such a data roaming deal (without using the word "greed")?

Don't forget that O2 is part of Telefonica, a Spanish company - O2 offer no such roaming deal within Spain. Roaming's a really lucrative cash cow for the mobile operators, I don't see them changing things whilst they've got it so good.

[ukcolinr]

Don't forget that O2 is part of Telefonica, a Spanish company - O2 offer no such roaming deal within Spain. Roaming's a really lucrative cash cow for the mobile operators, I don't see them changing things whilst they've got it so good.

True, but on the flipside, look at what Vodafone did this past summer? Roaming calls out of your bundled minutes all over Europe and in Australia (maybe other countries too I don't remember). Hopefully more of that to come?

[alexeismertin]

Just Awful, to pick a carrier worse than O2 & AT&T put together. I wonder if Orange will stick their stupid logo on the front & rebrand every menu in orange (colour) like they do with all their other phones - that'll teach Apple.

I think the chances of Vodafone of ever getting this is pretty much non existent now. Boo!

[OllyW]

I wonder if Orange will stick their stupid logo on the front & rebrand every menu in orange (colour) like they do with all their other phones - that'll teach Apple.

They don't stick any Orange branding on the iPhone in France or in any of the other 27 countries in which they sell it.

196591

What makes you think they will in the UK?

[MacUser09]

Work for Vodafone much?

Be as cynical as you like. I have nothing whatsoever to do with Vodafone, apart from being a long term customer.
Tried Orange, had nothing but problems.
As I stated in my post, I am very happy with them. I just wish that they would hurry up and get the iPhone.

[alexeismertin]

They don't stick any Orange branding on the iPhone in France or in any of the other 27 countries in which they sell it.

196591

What makes you think they will in the UK?

They stick it on EVERYTHING they sell in the UK, every phone is locked and rebranded, settings are removed & they only sell phones which have special Orange firmware versions on it. On a side note, their plans range from 1-3 years, their service is appalling, signal is weak ... etc etc...

[thetoddtime]

anybody noticing a trend... some people get poor coverage and service, others dont-- regardless of what carrier they are on (in the uk at least). I'm already tired of seeing people whinge about it. the fact is, Orange has the most widespread 3G coverage out of the biggest UK operators, and with a T-mobile merger sometime next year, that's going to improve significantly. It's not difficult to see why Apple might go for Orange on this basis, but it remains to be seen if vodafone get a deal too.

[shuurajou]

They stick it on EVERYTHING they sell in the UK, every phone is locked and rebranded, settings are removed & they only sell phones which have special Orange firmware versions on it. On a side note, their plans range from 1-3 years, their service is appalling, signal is weak ... etc etc...

It's been published numerous times before that Apple will allow no branding of the device, so, Orange won't be branding the device. Their plans range the same as any other operator and OFCOM rated them to have the best population coverage in the UK so stop being a troll man.

[Takuta-Nui]

Nice! Now people there have two plan options instead of a monthly tyranny. =P Funnily enough, I don't know what deals my own country, Canada, has... mostly because I don't plan to get an iPhone for a while.

[Samuriajackon]

anybody noticing a trend... some people get poor coverage and service, others dont-- regardless of what carrier they are on (in the uk at least). I'm already tired of seeing people whinge about it. the fact is, Orange has the most widespread 3G coverage out of the biggest UK operators, and with a T-mobile merger sometime next year, that's going to improve significantly. It's not difficult to see why Apple might go for Orange on this basis, but it remains to be seen if vodafone get a deal too.

I'm not the smartest guy in the world(or room) but when i first heard of this merger I saw this coming...Hope they change the name though, something like...T-Orangile....or ORANObile...yeah, i like Oranobile....

[wordoflife]

I hope iPhone stays with AT&T here in US!

Knock on wood

[OllyW]

I hope iPhone stays with AT&T here in US!

Knock on wood

The iPhone is staying on O2, which was the exclusive partner in the UK. All it means is we get more choice when buying our phones.

Apple seems to be moving away from exclusive deals so if they do offer it to any other US companies it doesn't automatically mean AT&T will lose the iPhone.

[z4n3]

And I thought the British only bitched about the weather!!! :D

count yourself's very lucky, o2 is part of Movistar and here in Spain I am paying 65.00 euros for 9 euros of calls and a 3Gb month traffic plan :mad: and if you want to talk about bad customer service try Movistar or Telefonica!!! :p

[TheVandit]

Arg. My contract is up in 2 weeks but I don't want to wait any longer! its been a long 18 months since I had to decide on an iPhone or a PS3 and went for the ps3 =s

I don't like Orange as well and Ive been an o2 customer before and it was great, just dont want to miss out on a good deal. Although I do get a discount with o2. That would probably swing it!

[Kilamite]

O2's 3G coverage in the UK is terrible..

If Orange has the best in the UK and now has the iPhone, hopefully O2 will have to do something about their 3G towers (i.e. rent more of them)..

[theamazingkazoo]

I moved from orange to o2 for the two reasons of getting an iphone and there service had gone from excellent in 1999 when I joined them to appalling when I left. I vowed never to go back too them.

[aegisdesign]

anybody noticing a trend... some people get poor coverage and service, others dont-- regardless of what carrier they are on (in the uk at least). I'm already tired of seeing people whinge about it. the fact is, Orange has the most widespread 3G coverage out of the biggest UK operators, and with a T-mobile merger sometime next year, that's going to improve significantly. It's not difficult to see why Apple might go for Orange on this basis, but it remains to be seen if vodafone get a deal too.

Unless Orange have been investing heavily in 3G antennae since the January Ofcom report, they're second behind 3 and T-Mobile's network pretty much overlaps Orange exactly.

See the maps in the PDF at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/broadband/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/

I hope this is just the start of it being available to ALL operators in the UK and the start of some price cuts to bring the iPhone down to the same levels we pay for non-Apple phones.

[Centralman]

They stick it on EVERYTHING they sell in the UK, every phone is locked and rebranded, settings are removed & they only sell phones which have special Orange firmware versions on it. On a side note, their plans range from 1-3 years, their service is appalling, signal is weak ... etc etc...

I disagree. I have a nokia from Orange and there are no stickers on the phone, you can turn Oranges features off and I have never had problems with signal where I go unless I am in an old building. Also I have never had to ring them with a problem at all :)

CentralMan

[aegisdesign]

so remind me again why other countries are offering multiple carriers for the iPhone (Orange/O2 in the U.K., for instance), while here in the U.S. we're stuck with AT&T?

Other countries have a choice of carriers because they all use the same internationally agreed GSM 3G standard and the same frequencies.

In the USA you have only ONE carrier using GSM 3G - AT&T.

[Durendal]

Nice. Competition is a good thing. Now, if Apple would just kill exclusivity with AT&T and allow T-Mobile into the mix, then I would be a very happy camper and would gladly get off this damned network when my contract is up.

[powers74]

I wonder if it means it will be available on Tmobile since Orange is supposed to be merging with them or will that be way down the line?

ooooOOOOh.... T-mobile?

[redgaz26]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7C144 Safari/528.16)

It's all apples and oranges now !!!!!!!

[redgaz26]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7C144 Safari/528.16)

Being series I've nothing but good to say about o2. There's loads of us who's contracts will be up in january so will be interesting to see what's offered.

[cal6n]

It'll be even more interesting if the rumours of Vodafone (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/sep/28/orange-uk-iphone-vodafone) entering the mix are true.

My contract with O2 is up in January and I can pull in a significantly better signal in my flat with Vodafone. With Orange and T-Mobile, I get none...

[womble2k2]

Damn! I was really hoping Vodafone UK would be next on the list to get the iPhone.
As much as I would like to get one, I am very happy with Vodafone, and will not change airtime providers.
Sigh! Maybe in the future.

Apart from a small falling out with Vodafone over a £3k charge for 2 hours internet use (ultimately resolved), I've also been very happy with Vodafone and was hoping for the iPhone to be available on their network.

I do suspect though that Apple will start having multiple carriers in each country. The single network contracts were good at controlling the initual launches of the device, but to maintain traction in the market, they need to open up to multiple networks.

Phil

[alphaod]

That's good to hear.

Hopefully AT&T loses their exclusivity agreement soon, so they'll learn to step up their network.

[MacNut]

Nice. Competition is a good thing. Now, if Apple would just kill exclusivity with AT&T and allow T-Mobile into the mix, then I would be a very happy camper and would gladly get off this damned network when my contract is up.If you don't like AT&T how will T-Mobile's smaller network be any better? Now if the rumors of T-Mobile buying out Sprint are true that would make it interesting.

Of course T-Mobile, Sprint, and Nextel are all on different networks.

[MattZani]

I just hope a price war starts, and O2 lower there prices, pushes iPhone prices down etc. Going Pay&Go for the next iPhone, and sim only contract, so doubt the benifits of this will affect me, most likely iPhone contracts will be the only thing affected.

[twoodcc]

interesting. i wonder if this means that AT&T won't be the only carrier in the US for long?

[MacNut]

interesting. i wonder if this means that AT&T won't be the only carrier in the US for long?We don't know what the contract is, AT&T could have it 6 months or 2 more years.

[numbersyx]

This is an excellent piece of news - more iPhone providers means more competition and a greater piece of the smartphone pie for Apple esp. in the mobile conscious UK. Now let's hope for the same in North America....

[Adidas Addict]

This is an excellent piece of news - more iPhone providers means more competition and a greater piece of the smartphone pie for Apple esp. in the mobile conscious UK. Now let's hope for the same in North America....

Whenever I visit the states I am amazed at how many people still use the Motorola V3/RAZR, they are still everywhere over there, its like 2002 all over again:D

[iZac]

They stick it on EVERYTHING they sell in the UK, every phone is locked and rebranded, settings are removed & they only sell phones which have special Orange firmware versions on it. On a side note, their plans range from 1-3 years, their service is appalling, signal is weak ... etc etc...

Its worth noting that I got an old Sony C902 (awful, AWFUL phone) last spring on Orange, which i haggled for over the phone with the retentions department. The phone had only just been released, so i got away without having Oranges offensive logos and piss poor software on it. I was greeted with a standard C902 in a standard C902 box with Orange 241 movie stickers slapped all over it. I dont know if they ship different stock out from different places, or if it was just too early for them to bastardise the thing with their branding.

[nookster]

Well, my iPhone's been with Orange since day one, using an 8 year old SIM, that I'm reluctant to bin as I get free texts for life on it :D

Would be nice to have it all official and non-hacktivated though.

And on the subject of UK carriers, all of the networks, anecdotes and personal experience notwithstanding, are ****, just in varying degrees, and of course your mileage may vary depending on mood of the underpaid CS rep that answers your call.

I juggle SIMs nowadays, Orange for SMS and calls, and Virgin for data use. My wallet has a Virgin sim and a poking tool in it at all times for the swap, not that I need it that much when free (or 'free') Wi-Fi is up for grabs in your average city.

Orange may go down the o2 route and set a fixed tariff, but you never know, you might get one on Dolphin 30 for a substantial handset outlay, heh. Need to see my old mate at the Orange shop about the plans.

[Jelite]

I just want a PAYG at an affordable price, £440 for a 16gb 3G S is a bit much.

[ppnkg]

I used to be with orange and I really doubt it that they will be able to offer a better deal. O2's simplicity works quite well for me. (Of course I had to buy the iphone on p&g first...)

[SimonTheSoundMa]

Coverage should be even better when T-mobile and Orange networks merge.

Unless Orange have been investing heavily in 3G antennae since the January Ofcom report, they're second behind 3 and T-Mobile's network pretty much overlaps Orange exactly.

See the maps in the PDF at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/broadband/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/

I hope this is just the start of it being available to ALL operators in the UK and the start of some price cuts to bring the iPhone down to the same levels we pay for non-Apple phones.

[G58]

Finally I can put a 9mm through my retarded, narcoleptic N95. Only good thing about it is the camera.

Oh, I forgot, they took away my gat!

It's all good.

Well, it will be if Apple have been able to prevent Orange installing their dumb software on the iPhone. I figure that was the hold-up all along.

[cecemf]

I'm with you. O2 has been an excellent partner for Apple, adopting every new feature from the word go, providing the username bypass to avoid image compression, having some of the best plans in the world, and, for a mobile phone outfit excellent customer services. The network is congested now so I'm looking forward to Orange having some of it.

I agree with you too, I have been with all operators and never been so happy with O2, their customer service is based in the UK and they are excellent, really helpful and polite, I agree that the 3G coverage sometimes it's not the best but neither is orange !!!

The operator in the UK with the most 3G coverage is THREE and if they do have the iPhone I will go for them ! as their network is not congested as it's the most modern one and build for the internet !

See OFCOM report here :
http://www.trustedreviews.com/networking/news/2009/07/10/Ofcom-Slams-O2-3G-Coverage/p1

[OllyW]

Vodafone (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/6241786/Vodafone-will-sell-the-iPhone-in-the-UK.html) to announce they will also be selling the iPhone? :)

[jdee04]

Was wondering about the wifi deal that O2 have with BT and The Cloud, will Orange be able to match that? Whilst 3G is ok, wifi is always my preference if its available.

Just for the record, I'm in the "poor O2 coverage" camp so would consider switching to Orange because of this (although I get a great broadband deal with O2 for being a monthly customer)

[marcosscriven]

Orange may go down the o2 route and set a fixed tariff, but you never know, you might get one on Dolphin 30 for a substantial handset outlay, heh. Need to see my old mate at the Orange shop about the plans.


I would guess that a fixed tariff for data would be a requirement from Apple.

[NightwalkerUK]

+1, that was the same line they used on everyone by the looks of it. After two years with no signal whatsoever in my house and being stupid enough to believe what I was told, I decided to opt out and switched to Vodaphone.

Things haven't been that bad now im with o2 to be fair so im hoping this mean the prices will come down through competition.

I was also hoping for Vodafone! I hope that future handset releases will at least be on o2 and Orange and not exclusive to Orange. Orange's coverage (and T-Mobiles also) in my area is appalling, poor 2G and no 3G, I was an Orange customer for about 6 years being told every year at renewal that they had plans to install a new mast in my area, that mast still is not present!

Please :apple: Don't make the iPhone exclusive to Orange :) lol

[johnnyjibbs]

I wouldn't fancy moving to Orange - their 3G coverage is reportedly better but it's not very strong and I know a lot of people who can't get any signal from their house or inside buildings!!!

Still, competition can only be good. I've always been very happy with O2 and a price war can only be a good thing!!!!!!

Orange will have to lower the price - they are still the underdogs - until they merge with T-Mobile at least!!!

[cal6n]

Vodafone (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/6241786/Vodafone-will-sell-the-iPhone-in-the-UK.html) to announce they will also be selling the iPhone? :)

As expected, but excellent news nonetheless.

So, in January, I can move to "simplicity" and then be ready for the iPhone v.4 price war next summer.

[talkingfuture]

Great news about Vodafone too, more competition can only be a good thing.

[OllyW]

As expected, but excellent news nonetheless.

So, in January, I can move to "simplicity" and then be ready for the iPhone v.4 price war next summer.

Exactly what I have got planned. :cool:

[cal6n]

This should change the situation regarding "out-of-contract" unlocking too.

Once all the major players are offering the iPhone, there'll be no excuse left for O2 breaking the industry code of conduct in that regard.

[OllyW]

Vodafone confirmed (http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2009/iphone_uk_ire.html).

[gridlockeduk]

Damn it, I just switched from Vodafone to o2 for the iphone...Vodafone easily have the best coverage!!!

[londonmystery]

Vodafone will have it as well, confirmed.

Now we'll really see some competition. :):)

http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2009/iphone_uk_ire.html

[ukcolinr]

Hooray! Only 21 months til I can change back to Vodafone! :)

[RapidAmp]

I'm extremly happy about Vodafone getting the iPhone now! Since I'm due an upgrade in March I know what my upgrade will be :D

[mhuk01]

Exactly what I have got planned. :cool:

Same- either simplicity or I'll buy a pay as you go sim taken from an iPhone so I get free wifi :)

[notguiltystyle]

I will go with whoever offers a 12 month contract, this 18 months contract business is rubbish!

[ascender]

Great news about Vodafone personally as their coverage is much better for me. Also the timing of early 2010 means a hell of a lot of us will be out of contract with O2, so I wonder if O2 will be doig their best to keep us or if Vodafone will be doing their best to tempt us!?

[djellison]

Damn it, I just switched from Vodafone to o2 for the iphone...Vodafone easily have the best coverage!!!

That may be your experience - but the official ofcom coverage maps would disagree.

[iBlue]

I must say, all of this news is pretty damn sexy! http://upc.edesignuk.com/uploads/smilies/sm-naughty.gif Competition rox mah sox!

Vodafone confirmed (http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2009/iphone_uk_ire.html).

I'm a vodafoner and this put the iPhone temptation up a notch. (just a notch, still think Android is pretty ace) </:apple: traitor>

[ukcolinr]

That may be your experience - but the official ofcom coverage maps would disagree.

Coverage maps aren't everything. Coverage maps show I have good coverage with all networks, I would dispute that however! They're theoretical rather than factual I find.

[gridlockeduk]

Hooray! Only 21 months til I can change back to Vodafone! :)

Haha, you and me both...Though it does say they won't get it until early(ish) 2010 so I am still glad I didn't wait any longer and made the switch. My only gripe with Vodafone is they really need to sort their website out...o2 definitely have the better and easier to use site when it comes to managing your account.

[ajbrehm]

For several months now o2 have been advertising the great new iPhone but every time I go to an o2 store (twice a week now), they don't have any. Similarly I hear from all my friends who tried to buy one that o2 simply don't have any. In fact most o2 stores have a sign, right next to the iPhone poster, that says that the store doesn't have any iPhones. (I wonder if the posters and signs are delivered in the same package to save money.)

It's ridiculous.

Add to this o2's lies and awful customer service and I am indeed not only looking forward to competition but I am willing to switch immediately, even to pay more, just to get away from o2.

[OllyW]

For several months now o2 have been advertising the great new iPhone but every time I go to an o2 store (twice a week now), they don't have any. Similarly I hear from all my friends who tried to buy one that o2 simply don't have any. In fact most o2 stores have a sign, right next to the iPhone poster, that says that the store doesn't have any iPhones. (I wonder if the posters and signs are delivered in the same package to save money.)

It's ridiculous.

Add to this o2's lies and awful customer service and I am indeed not only looking forward to competition but I am willing to switch immediately, even to pay more, just to get away from o2.

At least you are getting Vodafone (http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2009/iphone_uk_ire.html) next year.

[BongoBanger]

Great news about Orange and Voda throwing their hats in the ring. Whilst I don't think it'll make a massive difference to sales - most people who wanted an iPhone simply took their PAC codes and moved to O2 - it should hopefully put a bit of pressure on tariffs and make O2 up their game.

[BillyBobBongo]

Happy Days!

Now Vodafone just needs to get their arse in gear over in Holland so that I can get me an iPhone without have to touch the evilness that is T-mobile! :D

[Red-red]

Great news.

I can see a lot of iPhone users jumping ship after o2's reluctance to offer 3g users a upgrade option to the 3GS.

My contract is up on the 10th of January so I'll be looking forward to how things pan out price wise.

[aegisdesign]

Coverage should be even better when T-mobile and Orange networks merge.

Looking at the coverage maps, T-Mobile seem to be pretty much a subset of Orange already so I can't imagine it getting much better.

At one point T-Mobile and 3 were setting up a company between them that co-owned a 3G network, kind of like the mobile phone equivalent of Railtrack. I wonder what happened to that?

[rish]

Prior to moving to O2 I was an Orange customer. Orange for many years had back then the best customer service. It's almost 3 years since I switched and towards the latter part of my contract with Orange the customer service was nothing short of abysmal. They treated me appallingly. A bit shocking really given that I had been a customer since 1997 up to 2006/7 I was spending around £90 - £100 per month on a £25 per month contract. A lot of that was down to downloading emails on my then Sony Ericsson. £5.00 per 1Mb! That was around 2006/7!

So although I agree that competition is great, I as an O2 customer would be extremely reluctant to go back to Orange! Since my time I feel that O2 has offered a really good level of service. I think when my current contract is up I"m more than likely to stick with O2. I just don't trust Orange and I know first hand how poor T-Mobile as I have a mate who works for them.