Orange drops 'unlimited' iPhone tariff wording

Orange has changed the wording of its iPhone 4 tariffs to remove the word 'unlimited', in reference to the operator's mobile data allowances.

The decision to change the wording was taken to "provide a fair experience for all users of the Orange network and not only provide more transparency on the data allowances customers receive, but... also help [Orange] to provide a sustainable experience for the majority," an Orange spokesperson told ZDNet UK on Wednesday.

"It's worth noting that [approximately] 1 percent of our mobile customers use [approximately] 20 percent of our network capacity. Therefore, this move will help us address that imbalance to ensure a fair resource for everyone, with data bundles on offer for those who wish to download more," added the spokesperson.

In June, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that it was investigating operators' use of the word 'unlimited' when advertising fixed and mobile data plans. Orange's new tariffs — which are being offered alongside the previous deals — no longer include the term, which Orange had actually used alongside a so-called fair use cap of 750MB per month.

Orange is offering the iPhone 4 on a range of tariffs between £30 and £75 per month, on 18-month and two-year commitments. At £35 a month, customers can choose between having 500MB of data and 600 minutes of talktime, or 750MB and 400 minutes. The maximum data allowance involved in the costlier tariffs is 1GB.

Competitor networks 3, Vodafone and Tesco all offer the iPhone 4 with a flat-rate 1GB data allowance, while O2 and T-Mobile both range between 500MB and 1GB, depending on the price and length of the contract. T-Mobile offers 3GB a month with Android phones.

Orange is also offering the iPhone 4 on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) with an upfront cost of £480, plus a £10 top-up. A monthly £10 top-up will net PAYG customers 250MB data allowance and 300 free texts.