Vodafone and Orange increase PAYG charges

by Hugo Jobling on 5 July 2011, 17:14

Tags: Orange (NYSE:FTE), Vodafone (LON:VOD)

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Pay more As You Go

Both Orange and Vodafone will be updating their Pay As You Go tariffs in the coming weeks, increasing the price of calls and text messages. Orange will be increasing its calls from 20p per minute to 25p per minute, and text from 10p to 12p each. Vodafone's rates will jump to the same 25p per minute and 12p per text as Orange - an interesting coincidence.

The raises come into effect as Ofcom's regulations limiting mobile termination rates - the cost operators charge each other for connecting calls not originating from their network - come into effect. While Orange hasn't stated the reason for its increases, Vodafone has explicitly named the MTR restrictions as the cause of its price hike -  as it had said it would do should Ofcom carry out its plans.

Although Three, T-Mobile and O2 aren't increasing their prices proportional to Orange and Vodafone, those networks aren't any more competitive than they were previously, as their PAYG tariffs are roughly similar to Vodafone and Orange's increased rates.

Despite having cause price increases - at least in Vodafone's case - Ofcom believes that its imposition of MTR limits is the right one, and that the benefits outweigh the negatives. An Ofcom spokesperson said: "There is a lot of competition in the mobile market and we urge consumers to shop around to get the best deal for them."

In the future the MTR limits will ensure that mobile networks aren't able to gouge each other with expensive termination fees, the costs of which are almost always passed onto the consumer. It is, however, of course possible that the operators will find other ways to hike up prices.



HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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Anyone paying 25p per minute for calls and 12 per text on PAYG is crazy. It's very easy to get PAYG deals for 8-10p per minute and 4-5p per text. These often have other benefits too like free calls on the same network. The best thing to do in cases like this is to vote with your feet and move to a more competative provider.
bradyjames
Anyone paying 25p per minute for calls and 12 per text on PAYG is crazy. It's very easy to get PAYG deals for 8-10p per minute and 4-5p per text. These often have other benefits too like free calls on the same network. The best thing to do in cases like this is to vote with your feet and move to a more competative provider.
|That depends on your usage. I'm on Orange and I'm staying there. Why? Because coverage where I need it is good, and I don't make enough outgoing calls to care whether it's 20p or 25p per minute. It's not worth my time faffing about changing. And as for texts, I don't care if they're 12p or £12 each, because I do not text, either in or out, and anyone that knows me well enough to have my mobile number knows that.
MTR limits will ensure that mobile networks aren't able to gouge each other with expensive termination fees
So naturally, their response is to return to gouging their customers instead.