I think for some time now Orange have been been trying to tighten their grip on the industry & hope this blows back on them.

Having parted company with Orange two years back I am not surprised they are looking into other areas to try and cash in on with little or no thought to the realities of the industry.

There is a symbiotic relationship between both providers and respect is required on both sides - including Orange.

I would be interested to find out the details of their quoted customer figures also as a lot of companies in the UK have opted for Vodafone on contract renewals over the last 6 months. I think what we may be witnessing here is a top level panic by the Orange board to find ways of managing their profit margin as it deteriates!

I choose a network operator based on coverage, pricing and NETWORK services.

I choose a handset based on handset features, style etc.

If I buy a Nokia handset it should have access to Nokia services and provide the standard Nokia features, no matter which network I choose.

Yet Orange & the like continue to try and dictate to the handset manufacturers which features should be available on my handset. (see Music Stores, VOIP etc).

How I wish there was a network that just sold standard useful network services, and didn't try and foist their own music store on me, didn't remove features from my handset that they didn't like and didn't think they had the right to dictate to the user and the operator what they do with their phone.