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Orange France Revamps Postpaid Plans, Drops Contract Periods

Orange France Revamps Postpaid Plans, Drops Contract Periods

Orange France has refreshed its postpaid plans and multi-play Open packages. For new SIM-only sign-ups, the main change is that the entire tariff range is no longer subject to a 12-month commitment.

In addition to their increased flexibility, the revamped SIM-only plans are currently offering the incentive of a promotional discount for the first year. After this initial price reduction, the monthly subscriptions range from €7.99 (US $9.22) for the entry-level plan, which has a 100 MB data allowance, to €64.99 (US $75.03) for the top-tier package, which has an allowance of 200 GB.

New sign-ups can choose from seven SIM-only plans. The three higher-tier options offer 5G connectivity at a more affordable price than the previous tariffs, with inclusive data starting at 120 GB for €32.99 (US $38.09) a month, after the promotional discount.

Tarifica’s Take

Orange’s revamped suite of plans seems like a good match for a no-commitment arrangement. Customers who want SIM-only are likely to be even more flexibility-oriented than the average—and the desire for plan flexibility is on the increase across most categories of users, anyway. These users may be budget-minded, not wanting to get a new handset as long as the old one is still working, or they may want to use multiple SIMs for various purposes. In either case, being tied down to a 12-month contract would be unwelcome. So the offering seems to fit the bill in terms of increasing customer acquisition.

By removing the commitment clause, Orange is also making a good strategic move, in that its rivals Bouygues Telecom and SFR have minimum contract periods for all but their lowest-end plans. The elimination of the 12-month contracts should differentiate Orange from the other operators in France’s competitive marketplace.

Among the higher-tier plans with 5G service, the lowering of prices plus large allowances of data should act as a stimulant for uptake of 5G, something that still needs persuasion in markets where 4G/LTE networks are widely seen as adequate.