Train timetables, cinema listings and world news will be among the services that customers of Orange will be able to browse on their mobile phones from next month.

Orange this week revealed the content partners for its new mobile service that will use wireless application protocol (WAP) technology to provide Internet type services for mobile users.

To access the services, which will also include business directories, banking and travel information, users must purchase Orange’s version of the Nokia WAP phone, the Nokia 7110e.

Pricing for the new handset, which has a larger screen than many mobiles and a scrolling wheel for navigation, has not been finalised, but will be between £100 and £200. Orange will offer the service with other vendors’ WAP handsets by the end of the year.

Orange says the service will initially cost only slightly more than its current voice services.

“We’re not looking for premium pricing at all. For quite a few months there will be a limited offering which will be very affordable,” said an Orange spokesman.

Orange is likely to change the pricing model once it has a clearer picture of which services consumers are most likely to pay a premium for – access to real time stock quotes could for example warrant a higher price than access to sports results.

“In the future we see the pricing policy is going to be differentiated, based on the value of the content,” the Orange spokesman. Next year, the WAP service will be available on all Orange tarrifs, including the popular pre-paid tarrif, he said.

Orange’s WAP services will include: News from ITN; sports results from PA; entertainment listings searchable by region; tube, rail and road information; train times from Railtrack; last minute flights and a searchable business directory via a partnership with Thomson Directories.

Early next year, Orange will add a route planner, developed with Integrated Traffic Information Service (ITIS), which will combine the travel information sources. Banking is also planned – a trial is underway with Natwest and the service is expected to launch next year. Other services and functions, including transactions, are also planned.

See also:

Mobile Internet technology failing to deliver

The much hyped technology that promises to bring Internet services to your mobile phone is late to the UK as vendors fail to meet demand for handsets.  10 Nov 1999

Orange to slash prepaid mobile phone prices in the UK

Orange is planning to cut its prepaid mobile phone packages in the UK by up to 50 per cent in an attempt to boost usage.  27 Oct 1999

Orange accepts Mannesmann takeover offer

Britain's number three mobile operator Orange is set to fall to German mobile and engineering giant Mannesmann after accepting a GBP19.8 billion takeover bid.  21 Oct 1999

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