Orange clocks in mobile broadband for business

Orange on Tuesday introduced three mobile broadband plans for businesses, with rates that vary depending on the hours of usage.

The Business Everywhere 5 to 9 package allows unlimited use of 3G broadband via a dongle outside office hours, including weekends, for £10 a month. The operator is aiming this service at people who work long hours or during their commute.

"We know that traditional working hours are changing, and we want our mobile broadband offering to reflect the working lives of our customers," said Martin Lyne, director for small and medium business at Orange, in a statement.

Conversely, the Business Everywhere 9 to 5 package provides unlimited service during office hours only, also for £10 a month. The third new package, Business Everywhere Lite, offers a 1GB monthly usage allowance for £7.50 a month.

All the new plans call for customers to sign a 24-month contract, and the unlimited plans are subject to a fair usage policy of 10GB a month.

Orange's existing business tariff, Business Everywhere Unlimited, has been restructured to £15 a month with an 18-month contract. The plan previously required a 24-month contract.

The company is the only mobile operator in the UK currently offering time-segmented mobile broadband plans for businesses. Rivals 3 and O2 have packages of service priced at about £13 for 15GB a month and at £15 for up to 5GB a month, respectively.

T-Mobile, which completed its merger with Orange on 1 April, separately announced small changes to its Business Unlimited mobile phone plan, aimed at small companies. It said on Wednesday the plan now provides free conference calling for up to 20 people.