Nearly a third of Brits hanging up the home phone in fear of calling mobiles

• 29% of Brits refuse to call mobiles from their home phone as they don’t know how much it will cost them
• Over half (55%) of Briton’s with a landline agree that they would use their home phone more if inclusive minutes to mobiles were included in their plan - with 43% stating their friends and family, other than parents and children, would be the people they’d most like to continue conversations with
• Nearly a third of adults with children in the household (32%) admit they prevent calls to mobiles from the home phone over cost confusion
• To help keep the nation chatting, Orange introduces the UK’s first home broadband and calls package that includes landline calls to any UK mobile

Orange Broadband today revealed that confusion over call costs is preventing Brits from calling friend and family on their mobiles from their home phone.

According to findings from a new independent survey¹, almost a third of British adults refused to call mobiles from their home phone as they were confused over costs (29%), with over half of those with a landline (55%) agreeing that this wouldn’t be the case if calls to mobiles were included in their landline bundle. The report surveyed 2,004 adults from across the country and reflects Orange’s own customer feedback, so it’s decided to launch the UK’s first home landline calls plan which includes inclusive mobile minutes to any network in the UK.

When asked who they would speak to more if calls to mobiles were inclusive in their broadband and home phone plan, 43% of the nation who have landlines said their friends and other family over parents (16%) and children (19%). Over a third (36%) of the over 55’s, however, would opt to spend more time catching up with their children, many of which could have flown the nest clutching their mobiles.

The research also showed that households with children were the most likely to stop landline calls to mobiles in a bid to keep household costs down during tight economic times. Nearly a third of adults with children in the household (32%) admitted that they were preventing home phone to mobile calls over cost confusion and 43% of these adults who have a landline stated that they were put off using the landline more as they felt these calls were far too expensive.

What’s more, cost confusion appears to be sweeping the nation, as nearly three quarters of Brits (74%) couldn’t identify how much it really costs to call a UK mobile in peak time from a home phone. From a list given, 32% of those surveyed thought it cost 20p, 50p or £1 per minute, and another 29% admitted to not knowing at all.

The research supports the brand new Orange Broadband and Anytime Mobile Calls plan. For just £15 per month, customers and their families can now benefit from a 12 month unlimited home broadband with inclusive anytime calls to UK landlines and calls to 30 international countries, as well as  500 inclusive minutes to mobile phones on any UK network for the first time. On top of this, anyone taking up this plan in March will actually receive 1000 inclusive mobile minutes as a part of their package.

Sylvain Thevenot, Director of Marketing & Propositions, Orange Broadband said: “We all enjoy the comfort of using our home phone to chat, but sometime a fear of costs can prevent us from contacting friends and family when they’re out and about. So we’ve decided to offer Brits peace of mind and take home phone calling to the next level by creating the UK’s first home phone package that meets customers calling needs”

To find out more about the Orange home broadband and calls price plans in the UK, please visit www.orange.co.uk/broadband

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Notes to editor:

Orange Home Broadband Plans:

* Broadband and Anytime + Mobile Calls (500 mins)
From just £15** a month Orange mobile customers will receive up to 20Meg download speeds***, unlimited broadband usage, inclusive anytime landline calls, inclusive international landline calls to 30 countries**** and 500 inclusive minutes to mobile phones. This is a great plan for people who love to keep in touch with friends and family whether they are at home or abroad

* Broadband and Off Peak Calls
From just £5** a month, Orange mobile customers will receive up to 20Meg download speeds***, unlimited evening and weekend calls to landlines, and unlimited broadband usage on a 12 month plan.  Perfect for those looking for flexible plan and best value broadband

* Broadband and Anytime calls
From just £10** a month Orange mobile customers will receive up to 20Meg download speeds***, unlimited broadband usage and inclusive anytime landline calls – perfect for families who rely on their landline to keep in contact

The March special offer:

* Broadband and Anytime + Mobile Calls (1000 mins)
From just £15** a month Orange mobile customers will receive up to 20Meg download speeds***, unlimited broadband usage, inclusive anytime landline calls, inclusive international landline calls to 30 countries**** and 1000 inclusive minutes to mobile phones. This plan is perfect for people who want the freedom of contacting hard to reach friends and family, without the worry of counting minutes spent calling mobile phones

*Line rental is £13.50 per month
**This applies to all customers in the Orange network area which is 85% of the UK. An additional £10 a month applies for customers living outside of the Orange network area.
***Speeds vary significantly depending on line quality and distance from exchange.
**** Countries included: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, USA.

About Orange UK

Orange is the key brand of the France Telecom Group, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators. With almost 131 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates.

In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population, and 3G coverage to more than 93%. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited.

On July 1 2010, the company became part of Everything Everywhere, one company that runs two of Britain's most famous brands - Orange UK and T-Mobile UK - with plans to transform the industry by giving customers instant access to everything, everywhere, offering them the best value, best choice and best network coverage in the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is the UK’s biggest communications company, with a combined customer base of almost 28 million people and more than 720 retail stores across the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is registered at Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9BW under the registered company number 02382161.

For more information please call the Orange Press Office 0870 373 1500, or visit www.orange.co.uk/newsroom


¹ All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2004 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23rd - 27th February 2012.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).