Customers can roam across Orange and T-Mobile from 5 October

Orange and T-Mobile customers in the UK will be able to roam across both networks from 5 October.

Everything Everywhere CEO Tom Alexander said:

“We see this as a step change for Everything Everywhere,’ said Alexander, speaking at the first year anniversary of the merger announcement between the two companies.”

Users will be asked to ‘opt-in’ to the new service for the time being. The reason for this is that the networks handle around 1,600 different handsets and some devices may have problems with the service. By opting in customer service staff can find out what handset each user has and inform them if their device has any problems.

However, from the beginning of 2011 the roaming service will become automatic. The phones will track the strength of the signals and move seamlessly onto the strongest one available irrespective of which network the user is on.

Alexander said that Everything Everywhere would use the period between 5 October and the end of the year to gauge customer reactions to the service.

The launch will backed by an advertising campaign from both Orange and T-Mobile. Alexander described the adverts as ‘ a dialogue between the brands’. The adverts will also begin to introduce the Everything Everywhere brand using the tag line: ‘Inspired by Everything Everywhere’.

Alexander added:

“Moving forward we want to provide a smart multi-network capability, so that customers can roam onto different networks be they fixed, mobile or hotspot Wi-Fi. Our responsibility is to make that as seamless as possible.”

Good news all round!

Posted by: James