Read this if you are on Orange UK and you want to know how much it will cost to use BlueWhaleMail.

Note: Network charges are subject to change and increase and this information is intended only as a guide. Please contact your network operator directly to find out about costs.

Your network operator (e.g. Orange) has a mobile network which not only allows old-fashioned voice calls, but also has some newer technologies (sometimes known as "GPRS", "EDGE", or "3G") which allow mobile phones to connect to the internet. BlueWhaleMail software uses this data network to send and receive email on your mobile phone. Use of the data network is usually charged for according to the quantity of data exchanged over the network, often measured in megabytes (MB). BlueWhaleMail software is designed to use as little data as necessary, but it is still a good idea to check your possible charges.

Your network operator will charge you for using their mobile data according to the "data plan" part of the price plan that you have. If you do not have a data plan you can get charged very high prices, so you can save a lot of money by checking that you are on the right data plan. Please read this forum post and then check your data plan with your operator.

Orange UK Data Plans

Here is what we have been able to figure out about Orange UK's data charges:

'Pay monthly' customers

The default data plan available to all 'Pay monthly' customers is £1.50 per day. This means that unless you add a data plan, you will pay about £45/month. It is worth getting a data plan added - Orange UK call this an "Orange World Access (GPRS)" data bundle:

- "Orange World Access 10" bundle - £8/month for 10MB, then £0.80 per MB above that.

- "Orange World Access 25" bundle - £16/month for 25MB, then £0.70 per MB above that.

See "BlueWhaleMail Software Data Usage and Recommendations" below for advice on which plan to use.

We try to keep our information as up-to-date as possible. If you wish to view the latest information available from Orange UK directly please visit:

http://www2.orange.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=OUKPersonal&c=OUKService&cid=1096023564495&mid=1137070320264&t=Service&tab=2

'Pay as you talk' customers

The default data plan available to all 'Pay as you talk' customers is £2 per day, which is equivalent to about £60/month. It is worth getting a data plan added - Orange UK offer a single data plan to their 'Pay as you talk' customers, called the "Orange World Access 4" data bundle:

- "Orange World Access 4" bundle - £4/month for 4MB, then £1 per MB above that.

We try to keep our information as up-to-date as possible. If you wish to view the latest information available from Orange UK directly please visit:

http://www2.orange.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=OUKPersonal&c=OUKService&cid=1096023564495&mid=1137070320264&t=Service&tab=2

BlueWhaleMail Software Data Usage and Recommendations

The variety of different data plans available and varying usage patterns of individual users often make it hard to offer a single recommendation for all. To minimize your costs please take a moment to consider the plans available. Below we describe three types of users. These are to be taken as rough guesses and usage of other mobile applications such as a web browser, downloading of pictures and ringtones should also be taken into account.

Light user:

If you receive 2-3 emails daily, we estimate that your data usage will not exceed more than 9MB per month.
'Pay Monthly' customers should subscribe to the "Orange World Access 10" bundle for £8/month for a probable cost of £8 per month.
'Pay As You Go'customers should buy the "Orange World Access 4" bundle to cover part of their data use and buy the rest at the rate of £1 per MB for a probable total cost of £9 per month.

Average user:

If you receive 10-15 emails daily, we estimate that your data usage will not exceed more than 15MB per month.
'Pay Monthly' customers should subscribe to the "Orange World Access 10" bundle to cover part of their data use and buy the rest at the rate £0.80 per MB for a probable total cost of £12.80 per month.
'Pay As You Go'customers should buy the "Orange World Access 4" bundle to cover part of their data use and buy the rest at the rate of £1 per MB for a probable total cost of £15 per month.

Heavy user:

If you receive 50-100 emails daily, we estimate that your data usage will not exceed more than 50MB per month.
'Pay Monthly' customers should subscribe to the "Orange World Access 25" bundle to cover part of their data use and buy the rest at the rate £0.70 per MB for a probable total cost of £33.50 per month.
'Pay As You Go'customers should buy the "Orange World Access 4" bundle to cover part of their data use and buy the rest at the rate of £1 per MB for a probable total cost of £50 per month.

Contacting Orange UK

To change or inquire about your current data plan, please contact Orange UK directly.
'Pay Monthly' customers can reach Orange UK by calling 150 from their Orange mobile phone or 07973 100 150 from any other phone.
'Pay As You Go'customers can reach Orange UK by calling 450 from their Orange mobile phone or 07973 100 450 from any other phone.

We also welcome your input so do not hesitate to post your comments, corrections or recommendations and we will update this post appropriately.