Orange customers will be able to roam onto T-Mobile's network, and vice versa, from 5 October.
According to Reuters, Orange and T-Mobile users will be able to switch networks whenever they have a low signal. The system will be tested until early 2011, when switching will become automatic.
The network-sharing agreement is the result of a link-up between Orange and T-Mobile earlier in the year, merging under the name 'Everything Everywhere'. The two companies now jointly represent the largest mobile group, ahead of Telefonica's O2 and Vodafone. You'll still see Orange and T-Mobile shops, though, as the brands will be kept.
The reason behind the network-sharing agreement is that Everything Everywhere wants its network quality to be as good as possible, as more and more of people use mobile Web services. Everything Everywhere has also claimed that, in the future, you'll be able to switch from mobile to fixed to Wi-Fi networks without noticing.
Orange has been busy of late. It's also decided to enhance its pay-as-you-go 'animal' tariffs by providing better rewards when you top up. Those on the 'monkey' tariff will now only have to top up £5 to earn their free-text and Internet-access reward; 'camel' customers will receive free international calling minutes when topping up £10 a month; and there's now a 12p-per-minute call rate for those on the 'raccoon' tariff, Orange's lowest flat rate. You can read more details on Orange's website.
Last week, Orange also announced plans to introduce high-definition voice calling for selected mobiles. We wondered how many people were actually going to be able to access this service, but it would be no surprise if T-Mobile customers were able to use the same technology in the future.
Late in August, we also revealed Orange's plans to develop a cheap, £200 Android tablet by the end of the year. The company's already started developing budget Android smart phones.
Are you on Orange or T-Mobile? Do you think the network-sharing agreement will benefit you? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Comments 53
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Anonymous 6 September, 2010 12:43
Definatley, T-mobile can be hit and miss especially for HSPA. I have found generally when out and about that when I have a limited signal on T-Mobile my friends on Orange have got a great signal and vice versa so this can only be a bonus to the customers on both these networks. Bandwidth is also an issue, sometimes it can take as long as a minute to get a net connection even with a full HSPA signal on my Hero (G2) this is apparently down to too many users on the same mast, so I'm hoping this move should free up some available bandwidth? :)
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 13:29
yes i am on T-Mobile and when the phone rings and i am at the computer i have very little or no signal, so the call just breaks up. but now i have just seen and read the article on sharing networks and it seems to be happening right now because i have 5-6 bars on the signal indicator and i am at the computer and no loss of network which is a first hooray. :) :)
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 14:02
Perhaps this will be an end to the very poor last few weeks of Orange 3G data services, or perhaps I should say non-services!
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 16:07
I am both an Orange user and an Orange employee, and while signal on Orange is great where I work, my hometown has very poor coverage, and if I go indoors to any building in the town centre, Orange signal will completely disappear. With a T-mobile mast located directly in my town centre, this will benefit me greatly as I can get access to my network, like all my friends on the o2 or Vodafone network can with ease.
Plus, I'm hoping this will stop a lot of calls from customers complaining about poor signal and network outages. Let's just say that taking these calls can wind up being pretty stressful.
Ian Morris 6 September, 2010 16:59
Very good news. T-Mobile is much better than O2 for me, but this just makes it even more awesome.
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 17:11
will this affect those of us on virgin, which uses the t-mobile network?
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 17:18
Will T-Mobile customers be able to use Orange wednesdays now, due to the merger?
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 20:01
Excellent news... I hope. Recently switched from T-Mobile to Orange and have been regretting it ever since. Orange's signal is crap in comparison to T-Mobile where I live so if this switching functionality works and works well then I'll be very happy. Any details on how you switch? Will it be an option on the phone or do you have to call Orange to request it?
Anonymous 6 September, 2010 20:36
Orange customers in some areas have been left high and dry with appalling signal strength. They know this as they are offering to terminate contracts without penalty if you demand to know when it will be resolved and refund up to two months line rental. No way would they do that for a long-term contract holder unless things were really bad.
Anonymous 7 September, 2010 17:03
For now, the sharing will only provide 2G connections, so no joy for 3G data addicts there. It will also require an opt in from the network website. Expect on-screen roaming warnings galore when switching on Android handsets.
Anonymous 10 September, 2010 21:12
switched to orange from vodafone for good iPhone deal. Apalling service. can rarely get a mobile signal at home and generally can only use internet when on home wireless. Big mistake on my part but stuck with contract now. Good deal from Orange end though because I can hardly use it!
Anonymous 12 September, 2010 00:17
Got a couple of HTC Desires on contract from Orange a few months ago. Love the phone, but the internet has been really ropey this last few weeks.
Also, if you're thinking of buying the HTC desire be prepared for their stripped down version of the phone. They have removed Google Talk and added a load of rubbish demo games and apps *** That can't be uninstalled *** Shame on you Orange!
Anonymous 12 September, 2010 01:04
I live in Huddersfield West Yorkshire and Orange is so bad in my location that they allowed me to end my contract three months early with no penalty due to poor reception, even though there is a mast 500 yards away, I am now on T Mobile with an "End Stopping Signal" T Mobile is 100% better where we live.
Anonymous 14 September, 2010 16:18
A massive increase in coverage for both with minimal investment in the mobile infrascructure. Sounds good to me. Although reading the comments already left, its clear that on purchasing a mobile phone, a vast majority of the comments left, have been made by people who clearly havent done their research on network coverage in their area. Schoolboy error!
Anonymous 2 October, 2010 20:38
I am an Orange employee and got access to t-mobile signal today. I previously had to go outside to make a call at home but as soon as i got my sim update my HTC switched straight to t-mobile and I now have full signal at home. As soon as I left the house it switched straight back to Orange. No more standing in the rain to make a call. AWESOME!!!!!
Anonymous 4 October, 2010 18:58
In Brighton, Orange signal is so awful, apart from in my house where Orange is slightly better than T-Mobile, I am with T-Mobile and get signal everywhere in Brighton and when on the train up to London I get full 3G service pretty much all the way where Orange is bad. At my local swimming pool in Brighton ONLY T-Mobile gets service, downstairs in the changing room i get 1 bar of 3G and 4 bars of 2G, vodafone, o2 and Orange don't get signal, even 3 gets a little signal upstairs!! In the city centre Orange is so bad every time you enter a building it drops down, T-Mobile gets full signal everywhere. In the south T-Mobile is best, on the way to Uckfield 3 and Orange are non-existant, vodafone and especially O2 just go to Limited Service all the time and T-Mobile has 3G and 2G service all the way!
Anonymous 5 October, 2010 11:43
Just got the text message from Orange (2121) asking if i would like to sign up to share the T-Mobile 2G signal, so i thought YEAH!!!
I have tried signing up but i keep getting an error message on the orange.co.uk/share signup page.
Anonymous 23 October, 2010 11:28
Still getting no signal on both networks....both websites say I should get a reasonable signal....paying a premium for a service I'm not getting....stuck in a contract I can't afford to get out of... Was assured at the time I renewed my contract I would get good network coverage...what a rip off
Anonymous 27 October, 2010 11:24
all good
Anonymous 28 October, 2010 15:40
lvely
Anonymous 31 October, 2010 22:14
Vodafone is better then all networks
Anonymous 4 November, 2010 14:54
Orange should be banned from selling more contracts to add people to their network which cannot cope with delivering a very poor service to its existing customers.
They should hang their heads in shame.
Glyn
Anonymous 7 November, 2010 14:01
Oreang signal is so so so rabbish
Anonymous 17 November, 2010 17:05
I have an iPhone on the Orange network. The signal is so poor I cannot use many of the applications. I have problems sending/ receiving calls and texts due to bad signal in most places where I live. I am on a contract and Orange got a great deal from me. I pay £35 per month and don't get a service. The iPhone works great in Beijing but of course it's not an Orange network. Orange is a complete Rip Off.
Anonymous 18 November, 2010 20:24
I have been with Orange both On Line and Mobile for a considerable time now and have nothing but praise for their over all service. However, it would be nice bonus if the "Racoon" mobile sevice could offer those of us not requiring all the "whistles and bells", of the other services, some additional "perks", such as perhaps 50 free calls / texts on top up, or something useful. What do you say Orange?
Anonymous 21 November, 2010 09:29
Orange is quite simply the dogs bollocks
Anonymous 25 November, 2010 10:20
I recently got a text from orange offering this free service i instantly took it up as it seemed too good to be true. I also had rubbish reception at home.
Now the reception has actually got worse, meaning that i can only get signal by standing by the window upstairs in the bedroom.
This and those annoying texts saying "oooh there's a gig that you can win tickets for" mean that i'll be moving back to vodaphone in 2020* when my contract finally ends.
Anonymous 28 November, 2010 10:57
This "Orange/T-Mobile sharing" spin is just so that they can sell-off loads of antenna masts and fob us off.
When you "opt-in", they then "opt-out" of crediting your account for the dropped call.
For Orange customers this means they'll be patching in crappy Mercury One2One masts to replace the sold-off Orange ones. Remember, Mercury One2One (since 2002 T-Mobile) was the worst call quality network in British history.
Anonymous 6 December, 2010 20:29
I can't use it!
Anonymous 20 December, 2010 14:22
since they have linked in my area i have never got a signal, im moving networks to 1 that works
Anonymous 27 December, 2010 17:32
yes I beleve that this is a good idea as I found out myself last night my signel kept droping so I got moved to the other network just as long as orange/tmoble can offer diffrent deals/cheeper deals from each other
I can,t see there beeing to much of a problem
Anonymous 11 February, 2011 01:30
Unfortunately, I found out that the Orange signal is universally poor after signing up with them - the signal sharing with T-Mobile hasn't been of any benefit as I'm still getting lousy reception. Orange seem to ignore customer concerns even though some Orange customer service employees have admitted mast 'issues' and that the iPhone is the worst performer for grabbing signals, etc. Not what you want to hear from Orange's iPhone support team ! They were very keen to flog the iPhoneto me in the first instant...and it rather begs the question "Why sell the iPhone if you have such a poor opinion of it ?". Another company with a poor concept of customer service, but very keen to make money on the back of iPhone success.
Anonymous 15 February, 2011 23:47
DON'T BE FOOLED BY THIS GIMMICK !
Except for a few locations, both signals come frome the same antenna masts around the Country.
IT IS SIMPLY A SALES TACTIC.
Anonymous 17 February, 2011 03:46
No it has not given me any benefits
The only thing it has done is..... Very Very poor signal
When it was just t mobile could not fault it great signal everywhere
I went. Not impressed at will be phoning t mobile .
Anonymous 19 March, 2011 17:01
I can hardly even get signal in my own bedroom now that these have joint together, I'm a orange customer on contract with a blackberry, never had signal problems before but now it's like my phone has to be at a certain part of my room to get a signal. Irritating!
Anonymous 28 March, 2011 00:47
Ever since T-Mobile was added to my Orange service I've been unable to receive calls or texts! The signal was strong but nothing was coming through until I turned my phone off and back on (or switched to the 'offline' signal mode profile and back again)! Then I'd receive all the old missed calls texts and late text messages!!!!!!!!!!1 I've also received the "You've picked up the T-Mobile signal for first time" text again recently. On a 3G Nokia N70...Perhaps it's just a coincidence and my mobile is dying?
P.S. T-Mobile was the awful signal network, Orange has the best signal I know of!
Anonymous 2 April, 2011 01:08
Just recently i received a txt message from orange (at the weekend i think) saying about the tmobile merge and was asked to power off and restart my phone,... now since then ive had nothing but problems with signal on my phone,... also the people i know who are on orange too are all experiencing the same problems,... i contacted orange technical support yesterday and was told to try certain methods and settings pn my phone which all failed to work and they said that there are no technical problems with there masts. Now technical support where suppose to ring me back 24hrs later and failed to do so. For the past year my signal has been perfect and so has my family and friends locally untill now,.. we are all experiencing this problem and what actually happens is that one moment my signal will go to 3 bars,.. then will just cut off "no service" for approx 10mins while sitting still at home,... but at work when i really need to use my phone i no longer get any signal at all,... i work with another 5 colleagues who have exactly the same problem at the same time and also a mate and my sister who live in the next town. At the moment my phone is currently a £400 paperweight and extremely fraustrating. Grrrrrrr!!!!
Anonymous 3 April, 2011 19:42
since T-Mobile was added to my Orange service I've been unable to receive calls or texts when i never had problems before. i have rang orange and they said it is a problem with the masts and should be fixed this week. where do i stand about ending my contract if this does not get fixed? as im not paying £25 to not get calls and having to wait arouind 2 hours for a text.
Anonymous 8 April, 2011 23:28
My Orange phone has been dropping calls in & out all this week. Tonight I went to network selection & unticked T Mobile, as I have with Voda & 02. So far it's OK but then £25 top up lasts me all year :-)
Anonymous 19 April, 2011 19:26
what is happening
Anonymous 19 April, 2011 19:28
what do i do next
Anonymous 19 April, 2011 19:31
what do i do next
Anonymous 19 April, 2011 19:33
what do i do now
Anonymous 30 April, 2011 09:41
My signal is the same as it was before the merge but now my data connection is up and down like a whores knickers and unfortunately there is no 'none' option for warning sounds on my phone so consquently my phone bleeps me 8 times a day. It wouldn't be annoying if it happened as i moved around but it will drop and reconnect while sat on the table in front on me.
Anonymous 2 May, 2011 12:22
The orange signal is rubbish in NI, and has been for years. This joint venture between the two companies hasn't halped at all. The problem with Orange is that they are good at charging customers but are not as quick about resolving their basic network structure. I live outside Lurgan and travel to Belfast daily only getting 1-2 bars for the journey - good eh!
Anonymous 10 July, 2011 12:32
signal is still really bad. you cant use your phone in the house with out it losing a signal 0/10 really really bad orange is terrible for a signal
Anonymous 17 July, 2011 20:17
text yes to 2121 to get both signals!!!
anonymous 31 August, 2011 14:12
i am a virgin mobile customer,and at present,it is t-mobile, that is virgin mobiles network provider ,i live in the ky6 area, and i am not getting a signal, i am having to go and hunt for a signal, but for 15 years was an orange customer, and never ever did i have this problem, so it will be very benificial to me , when this mergence takes place, i was told by virgin mobile that it is to happen at the start of september , but looking at your post, you are saying from the 5th of october , i hope that it is september like virgin mobile said to me just 3 weeks ago, bring on orange cant wait. T.D.H.
anonymous 8 September, 2011 22:26
can I have the signal
kaw 15 September, 2011 09:02
I have always been with Orange and my signal was always great. Now T-Mobile have come into the picture i don't seem to ever have signal!!!
anonymous 30 October, 2011 21:57
**** Poop. Yummy.<br />
<br />
Both Orange and T-Mobile suck ****. Best have always been and always will be: O2 and Vodafone.
anonymous 11 December, 2011 18:59
it was good but now its crap, my signal is constantly empty everywhere, this is only been recent but its pissing me off i have a htc mozart, i live in aberdeen scotland never had a bad signal before but thats changed need explanations for this HELP!?
anonymous 20 December, 2011 17:09
My office is based in Oxford Street an my signal jumps from nothing to 4 bars regularly. Surely you can't get more central than that? Moved from O2 and sincerely regretting it... not a very good network at all