iPhone on Orange: how does it stack up against O2?

The iPhone 3GS will be available on Orange in 9 days. On Tuesday November 10th Orange stores will be stocking the Orange iPhone, finally breaking O2’s monopoly on the super-phone. Orange claims its new monthly and pay as you go plans are “great value” – but – inevitably they’re not drastically different from O2’s.

Both Pay Monthly plans include unlimited use of public Wi-Fi network BT Openzone and in O2’s case, The Cloud. Orange claims that its network coverage is the best in the UK, which could be the only significant edge it has over the O2 contracts.

Comparison on core deal – the iPhone 3GS 16Gb: pretty much identical.
On Orange – free on Orange’s £44.05 plan with a 24-month contract: offering 1200 minutes, 500 texts, unlimited mobile broadband and wifi access to BT Openzone.
On O2 – free on O2’s £44.05 on a 24 month contract : 1200 minutes, 500 texts, unlimited mobile broadband, access to BT Openzone and Cloud public wifi networks.

Summary of Orange’s other iPhone deals:
• Pay Monthly – iPhone 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models will be available on multiple monthly plans, with the 3GS free on all £45 plans and the 3G model free from £30 plans (both with a 24-month contract). For those looking for full all-inclusive packages, a new high end “traveller” offer with inclusive roaming call and data allowance is available at £125 month. All plans include unlimited** anytime, anywhere UK mobile data usage on Orange’s data network, which has the largest 3G population coverage in the UK. In addition customers will also get free unlimited use of the UK’s largest single public Wi-Fi network, BT Openzone.

• Pay as You Go (PAYG) – Customers topping-up by £50 at purchase will be able to buy an iPhone 3G on Orange PAYG for £333. Any customer buying an iPhone on Orange PAYG will automatically get 250MB of data each month, plus unlimited use of the UK’s largest single public Wi-Fi network, BT Openzone, for 12 months.

• SME Plans – Similar to PAYM Consumer pricing, with an additional £50 monthly tariff.

• iPhone tethering bundles – Customers wanting to use their iPhone to get mobile broadband on their laptop can take out additional bundles starting at £5 per month.
For those looking for full all-inclusive packages, a new high end “traveller” offer with inclusive roaming call and data allowance is available at £125 month. All plans include unlimited** anytime, anywhere UK mobile data usage on Orange’s data network, which has the largest 3G population coverage in the UK. In addition customers will also get free unlimited use of the UK’s largest single public Wi-Fi network, BT Openzone.

See Orange’s iPhone price plans here: http://interest.orange.co.uk/
See O2’s iPhone price plans here: http://shop.o2.co.uk/update/paymonth.html