Orange customers are now able to make calls and send texts on the T-Mobile network and T-Mobile customers are able to do the same using the Orange network. It means that 27 million UK customers, the combined customer base of both brands, can use their mobiles in more places than ever before.
Customers who want to sign up for access to both networks will benefit free of charge, with no changes to their existing tariff or call or text charges. Customers simply register online at either mobile operators’ websites to receive an update to their SIM card. From that point on, if a customer loses signal on their existing network, they will automatically pick up the signal from the other network where it’s available.
To let customers know they can benefit from the UK’s biggest ever network coverage improvement, a £4 million joint Orange and T-Mobile advertising campaign will launch today, 11 October. In an industry first, the company’s two famous brands will appear ‘head to head’ and speaking to one another in the marketing campaign.
Tom Alexander, CEO of Everything Everywhere, the company that runs Orange and T-Mobile, said: “Today’s switch on is the culmination of a unique and hugely complex technical project. But the result is simple; our customers now get two networks for the price of one.
“That means 27 million consumers can now keep close to the people, places and things that matter to them in more places than ever before. This is the first step in our vision of giving our customers instant access to whatever they want, wherever they are, instant access to everything, everywhere.”
Everything Everywhere’s ambition is to provide all Orange and T-Mobile customers with the best network experience in the UK, by offering a multi-network strategy to combine 2G, 3G, 4G, fixed broadband and WiFi in a unique customer offer. Significant network investment is taking place to ensure the network is enhanced for the 21st century customer.
Next year customers can expect benefits such as automatically switching to whichever of the two networks has the strongest signal while they’re mid-call, and enhanced data and internet coverage.