Orange Dongle Review
A subsidiary of France Telecom, Orange is a mobile broadband company servicing the greater part of Europe and the UK. Formerly known as Wanadoo, Orange was re-branded by its parent company in 2006.
Orange provides customers with two separate tariffs, Dolphin and Raccoon and Dolphin, as well as a number of secondary options for each plan. Each contract also offers both short and long term deals, ranging from monthly rolling contracts or 12 to 24 month commitments.
The options you inevitably choose will affect the cost of the plan, the amount of data you are allowed to download without penalty, the inclusion of additional packages such as Wi-Fi, and the price of the dongle.
For the casual user, Orange also offers pay as you go contracts which charge approximately 5p per megabyte of data, with a limit of £40 per month. This data can be hard capped to prevent excessive charges for going over the limit.
Orange Mobile Broadband Speed and Coverage
Orange promises up to 7.2 Mb/s of speed on their network, although such speeds can only be achieved on a completely open and unobstructed signal. Furthermore, the total number of users can weigh down the network, and the average user will likely experience a maximum of 5 to 6 Mb/s of bandwidth.
In terms of coverage, Orange’s 3G Network services 93% of the population.
Users unsure of whether they are covered should refer to the Orange website. For those who signed up and found the coverage inadequate, Orange allows customers to cancel their contract within 14 days.
Free Orange Mobile Broadband Laptops
Orange is known for constantly updating its free laptop deals to lure potential customers. As a result it’s a good idea to check their website regularly in order to keep abreast of the latest packages.
Typically the best hardware is offered in tandem with a two year contract in order to offset the cost of the laptop or tablet. However, some premium merchandise does come with an additional upfront charge.
Benefits of Orange Mobile Broadband
Orange Mobile Broadband offers a highly attractive £5 monthly discount to existing customers, regardless of the type of contract. Whether you have a long term contract, pay as you go deal, or home broadband connection, the discount applies.
In addition, those who sign up for the Dolphin package also receive a special data transfer bonus of 1 gigabyte for downloads made during non-peak hours, such as between midnight and 4pm.
Some tariffs also include free Wi-Fi minutes which allow you to save unlimited data with no affect on your monthly limit when connected to a hotspot. Finally, Orange gives all mobile broadband customers 2 for 1 tickets to the cinema every Wednesday.
