Miles
28-09-2006, 04:57 PM
Orange has taken another step towards its ambition of being a one-stop service provider with the unveiling of a mobile which doubles up as a home phone, billed as the 'Unique'.
Orange is hoping to succeed where BT's Fusion service has so far failed, in attracting customers to a handset which looks and operates as a normal mobile phone but switches to a local, over-the-internet network in the home.
It will be tacked on to Orange's existing proposition of free broadband with 18-month mobile contracts, making the network a 'triple-play' operator. Customers will have to spend £50 per month for the package but will be able to make unlimited free calls to landlines or other Orange mobiles while they are at home. The service will be made available at Orange retail shops from 1 November. Independents will not be able to offer the service.
The default mode of Unique devices will be to immediately search for the user's home broadband hub using Wi-Fi to offer calls over the computer's broadband connection. When it is out of range, it will switch to the Orange network.
Only three handsets will be made available at the launch of the device: the Nokia 6136, Samsung P200 and Motorola A910, all mid-range, simple devices. Orange chief Sanjiv Ahuja described it as 'a robust range', adding that between 10 and 15 'Unique' handsets will be available by the end of next year.
Ahuja told Mobile he was undeterred by the poor take-up of BT's Fusion service, claiming that Orange's version was 'absolutely unique', and promised a more reliable service than Fusion, which currently offers handsets that connect to the broadband network via Bluetooth.
READ MORE (http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/content/14752.asp?men=2&sub=6)
Orange is hoping to succeed where BT's Fusion service has so far failed, in attracting customers to a handset which looks and operates as a normal mobile phone but switches to a local, over-the-internet network in the home.
It will be tacked on to Orange's existing proposition of free broadband with 18-month mobile contracts, making the network a 'triple-play' operator. Customers will have to spend £50 per month for the package but will be able to make unlimited free calls to landlines or other Orange mobiles while they are at home. The service will be made available at Orange retail shops from 1 November. Independents will not be able to offer the service.
The default mode of Unique devices will be to immediately search for the user's home broadband hub using Wi-Fi to offer calls over the computer's broadband connection. When it is out of range, it will switch to the Orange network.
Only three handsets will be made available at the launch of the device: the Nokia 6136, Samsung P200 and Motorola A910, all mid-range, simple devices. Orange chief Sanjiv Ahuja described it as 'a robust range', adding that between 10 and 15 'Unique' handsets will be available by the end of next year.
Ahuja told Mobile he was undeterred by the poor take-up of BT's Fusion service, claiming that Orange's version was 'absolutely unique', and promised a more reliable service than Fusion, which currently offers handsets that connect to the broadband network via Bluetooth.
READ MORE (http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/content/14752.asp?men=2&sub=6)