EE to discontinue all Orange email addresses

[Rail Ranger]

Just a heads up if you have an Orange email address (including Wanadoo and Freeserve). You may not have heard that EE are closing these down as from 31st May 2017. Further details are here: http://ee.co.uk/help/mobile-and-hom...-gallery-mobile-broadband/email/email-closure

Orange Email will close on 31 May 2017. Please see below to find out what this means for you and how to get set up with an alternative email address.

Customers on some legacy Orange Home Broadband and Orange mobile plans were given a free email address. However since then email services are now largely independent, and mostly offered by companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. We haven’t given Orange Email addresses to new customers since 2012.....

 

[Barn]

Freeserve was a massive part of the initial explosion of internet take-up in the UK. Bit of an end of an era.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Freeserve was a massive part of the initial explosion of internet take-up in the UK. Bit of an end of an era.

It is rather. I was with Orange for a few years, back in the days when a mobile phone was a mobile phone. I always felt that as a brand, 'Orange' had rather more character than the 'T-Mobile' and then 'ee' that replaced it, so was sad to see the brand disappear. I guess this is the final nail in the coffin for 'Orange'.

 

[najaB]

I guess this is the final nail in the coffin for 'Orange'.

While EE was still part-owned by France Telecom there wasn't a need to change the name. Now that it's owned by BT Group they can't really continue to use a competitor's branding.

 

[SteveP29]

While EE was still part-owned by France Telecom there wasn't a need to change the name. Now that it's owned by BT Group they can't really continue to use a competitor's branding.

Could that mean that if they apply for a licence, Orange could return to the airwaves in this country?

 

[najaB]

Could that mean that if they apply for a licence, Orange could return to the airwaves in this country?

It would, but they won't. They've just got out of the UK market, I can't see any reason for them wanting to return.

 

[Bletchleyite]

BT, as former Cellnet (now O2) owner, have just returned by buying EE...

 

[najaB]

BT, as former Cellnet (now O2) owner, have just returned by buying EE...

BT never left the market. They have had an MVNO presence (originally on Vodafone, then on EE) since they sold O2. They were a niche player in the consumer market but always had a sizable business customer base.

 

[Geezertronic]

Could that mean that if they apply for a licence, Orange could return to the airwaves in this country?

You will still see the Orange brand abroad as they are France Telecom in disguise. EE had to remove the Orange branding when EE was created and split with France Telecom

 

[dgl]

Even though orange was originally started by Hutchinson the owners of three, so if the o2 sale had gone ahead each side would have owned their original competitor!

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[najaB]

EE had to remove the Orange branding when EE was created and split with France Telecom

EE was formed in 2013 but they continued to trade as Orange until this year (though they tried to encourage customers to move to EE plans). It was the sale of EE to BT that triggered the re-branding.

 

[Geezertronic]

EE was formed in 2013 but they continued to trade as Orange until this year (though they tried to encourage customers to move to EE plans). It was the sale of EE to BT that triggered the re-branding.

The split actually started way before the BT buyout was even mooted - or at least the infrastructure split did as a lot of systems that were hosted by France Telecom in France were brought into hosting in the UK. Can't go into too much detail, I hope you understand

 

[VauxhallandI]

I've just informed my father of this change as he has an Orange email address.

They hadn't informed him of the closure of his account.

Does anyone know if they are offering a personalised bounce back system or something similar?

 

[Sacro]

I'll grab my popcorn and see if this is half as fun as when they closed o2.co.uk e-mail addresses.

People need to stop using ISP provided mail and either pay for it themselves, or go to one of the "too big to fail" providers such as Google or Microsoft.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Or get a domain. They are cheap these days.

 

[najaB]

Or get a domain. They are cheap these days.

Even with a domain you still need a mail host.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Even with a domain you still need a mail host.

You do, but it removes the penalty for moving hosts, so you can use whatever you like rather than having to choose one that's likely to stay around.

 

[jon0844]

You will still see the Orange brand abroad as they are France Telecom in disguise. EE had to remove the Orange branding when EE was created and split with France Telecom

EE had the right to continue using the Orange brand which, AFAIK, has now expired.

However, there are people high up within EE who are of the opinion that one day they might seek to licence the name again and reintroduce the brand. These are people who were there at the start of the Hutchison-run Orange network in 1994, and some who left for the other Hutchison-run network Three in 2003 and since returned. I think for a lot of people there, Orange is still a brand very dear to their hearts.

BT is, currently, keen for EE to be run at arms length (despite having relocated key staff from Hatfield and Paddington to St Pauls) with the hope that BT's bureaucracy doesn't ruin things. Nobody can say what might happen with a change of management, or depending on financials, but for now EE is business as usual despite the new owners.

I actually think that EE is now a pretty well known brand in its own right, so the likelihood of seeing Orange return is very slim. But you never know.

 

[talltim]

Orange was the only UK brand that seemed to have an identity, I think it was stupid to stop using it. EE is well known now, but it has no identity.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Orange was the only UK brand that seemed to have an identity, I think it was stupid to stop using it. EE is well known now, but it has no identity.

They weren't allowed to.


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[talltim]

They weren't allowed to.


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When a brand is as strong, it seems silly to buy the company without it. And its silly for the company that does own it to not use it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

When a brand is as strong, it seems silly to buy the company without it. And its silly for the company that does own it to not use it.

It was probably not for sale.


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[jon0844]

It was probably not for sale.

That would appear to be the case. EE originally was a name for the joint venture, with both brands kept. As time went on, with a rebrand from Everything Everywhere to just EE, it became apparent EE would stand on its own.

When EE decided to go up for sale, neither brands were for sale but kept for an agreed period.

All use of the logos has now ended, although you can still select Orange or T-Mobile on the My EE phone app. Sooner or later that will likely end and all legacy plans will be migrated.

 

[GusB]

Orange was the only UK brand that seemed to have an identity, I think it was stupid to stop using it. EE is well known now, but it has no identity.

The operator we knew as "Orange UK" is no longer in Orange ownership, and only had the rights to use the name for a certain period of time.

I wonder, given the history with Hutchison and Orange, whether we may yet see them licence the Orange brand in the UK at some point in future. "3" was a useful name when 3G was being rolled out, but now 4G is mainstream* it seems to be a little bit outdated!

(* some operators haven't bothered providing 3G in my area let alone its successor)

 

[jon0844]

As I said, people within EE would like to bring Orange back. That would require France Telecom re-licensing the name, which of course also means that FT would have to be sure it has no plans to re-enter the market in the future.

As Orange has had such a long gap now, I am not sure it's as strong a brand as it was. EE isn't exactly unknown these days, so I rather suspect it won't be coming back.

For the record, France Telecom did incredible harm to Orange when it took over. It cut investment in many areas, undoing so much good work carried out by what was the most advanced network by far.

Since then, only O2 has managed to be as badly managed (yet, surprisingly, always did extremely well in customer surveys on things like customer service) with a massively underfunded network with woeful capacity to cope with the surge in data usage.

Thankfully, since Vodafone and O2 paired up to roll out a 4G network, things have been improving massively - but EE is still a long way ahead, thanks in part to Olaf Swantee who was on a personal mission to build a killer network. Thankfully, even since he's gone, EE is still continuing at a huge pace. I just hope that when it reaches its target, BT doesn't step in to say 'right, that's enough now' and cuts back on future expansion for 4.5G and 5G.

 

[najaB]

I just hope that when it reaches its target, BT doesn't step in to say 'right, that's enough now' and cuts back on future expansion for 4.5G and 5G.

I doubt that will happen. BT has mobility as one of the key pillars of their future growth plans.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I doubt that will happen. BT has mobility as one of the key pillars of their future growth plans.

It better had have - landline telephony (as distinct from broadband) is as good as dead.

 

[najaB]

It better had have - landline telephony (as distinct from broadband) is as good as dead.

PSTN switch off isn't quite planned in yet but some products are in their twilight. SOGEA (fibre to the cabinet without dialtone) plus FVA (fibre voice access) is the first step.

 

[bradders1983]

Or get a domain. They are cheap these days.

Indeed, although some people are still idiots: yesterday I parked next to a van for a locksmiths (whilst doing the shopping)

On the side of the van? A proper website address, with a gmail email address underneath it.

Words fail.....

 

[GusB]

Indeed, although some people are still idiots: yesterday I parked next to a van for a locksmiths (whilst doing the shopping)

On the side of the van? A proper website address, with a gmail email address underneath it.

Words fail.....

I've seen quite a few local businesses with web addresses on their vans, but gmail email addresses. It could be worse - it could have been something like a btinternet.com address