Orange: The future is bright! (Orange Network)

Member Name: stuntpilotx

Product:	Orange Network
Date:	05/11/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good network coverage, great loyalty bonuses, good tariffs.

Disadvantages: Lack of iPhone competition

I have now been on the Orange network for three years as a Pay-Monthly customer, and have also used them as a Pay as you go customer in the past. I have previously been on the o2 network and T-Mobile so have quite good experience of all of these networks and I have to say that Orange have been the best so far.

When on o2 I had terrible coverage, and the customer service was a nightmare. I'd phone to get something sorted out and nobody would be able to help, so in the end I left. I went to Orange as they offered a multitude of tariffs to suit every kind of user. I'm a heavy texter so got a deal with 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £35 per month. Upon receiving my first bill I had been charged for texts that should have been included in my tariff, I simply phoned up and the adviser apologised for the problem, refunded me the excess texts and put a £5 credit on my next bill for the inconvenience.

This great customer service has continued with Orange. Upon deciding to renew my 18 month contract, Orange offered me a 10% discount on my tariff, a new phone that new customers would have had to pay £90 for, and added extras on to my tariff. Earlier this year, Orange made changes to their contracts allowing people to break their contracts at no extra charge. I phoned Orange regarding this and explained that I didn't want to leave, but the temptation of better deals elsewhere was a strong one. They immediately gave me a further 10% discount, a £10 credit to my next bill and reduced my tariff by a further £5. I have since renewed with Orange on an iPhone contract and again received a 10% discount on the tariff that was offered. This is evidence that Orange provide great services to their customers, and providing you're friendly on the phone they are willing to bend over backwards to keep you on their network and to sort out problems when they do arise. Sometimes you do need to speak to more than one person, but I've not had the problems of being cut off or hung up on that others appear to have experienced.

The network coverage on Orange has been reasonably good. In some country areas the signal drops occasionally, but i've never had any major problems with network coverage. Furthermore, the 3G network is the biggest in the UK, making it a worthwhile network to be on with the new smartphones that are becoming increasingly popular. Furthermore if the Orange & T-Mobile merger happens then Orange will become one of the biggest networks in the UK.

Overall I look forward to another two years with Orange.

Summary: Definitely one of the better networks out there.