Given the recent press that Orange has received (didn’t they sign up Xtina Aguilera or something?), this all now looks like a thinly-veiled attempt to produce higher margins off an existing customer base.

It’s the ole’ bait and switch. This tactic has always been a tough sell, but now in this age of rapid information exchange…

Have they released any financials for 2005? Usually moves like this are precipitated by one of two things: MASSIVE earnings (which lend that feeling of invincibility), or more likely, earnings that were sagging like grandma’s boobs.

Although I must admit to not being up to date on my Orange information, I will say that it’s likely that the lower-tier customers comprise the largest percentage of their customer base (that’s usually the case for large-scale Telcos, anyway). Cutting back the minutes and features on those plans looks to me like the worst possible move you could make. If I was on the board, I’d be crying foul.