This article was published on November 4, 2009

Orange will ban Non-Orange branded streaming services on the iPhone. (Spotify, UStream…surely not YouTube?)


Orange will ban Non-Orange branded streaming services on the iPhone. (Spotify, UStream…surely not YouTube?)

orange-iphone-decalThe good news of multicarrier support for the iPhone in the UK is beginning to dwindle.

Orange announced it would be selling the device in the UK from November 10th but with a limited 750mb “unlimited” data download. Naturally, Orange’s potential iPhone customers have been left frustrated and considerably unhappy.

Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC’s technology correspondent, browsed through Orange’s Terms and Conditions and discovered the following:

“Not to be used for other activities (eg using your handset as a modem, non-Orange internet based streaming services, voice or video over the internet, instant messaging, peer to peer file sharing, non-Orange internet based video). Should such use be detected notice may be given and Network protection controls applied to all services which Orange does not believe constitutes mobile browsing.”

Yep, no non-Orange based streaming services!? That doesn’t just constitute restrictions on data limits but also restrictions on the types of applications users can run. Nuts.

O2 have a similar “fair use” policy, albeit no restriction to the types of applications available to its customers. Its fair use policy states that “reserves the right… to contact customers about their usage if we believe it adversely affects the service of our other customers”. CNet UK attempted to dig out an actual figure for O2’s limit with no luck.

After Cellan-Jones article on the matter, an Orange spokesman said the limit would “reviewed” to make sure that it was at the right level. That said, with or without a limit, will Orange allow non-orange based streaming services?

O2 is beginnig to feel like a decent place to be.

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