Telecoms operator Orange UK (Everything Everywhere) informs ISPreview.co.uk that it has gone the same way as Sky Broadband (BSkyB) by officially removing their Fair Usage Policy (FUP) from "all of our unlimited [Home] broadband plans". The ISP hopes that its new move will "cement our position as the UK's best value unlimited broadband and calls" provider.

Orange's FUP, which was until recently still attached to their "unlimited downloads" claim, has been criticised in the past for being far too vague. Orange now states that its home broadband service will offer "completely unlimited data - we’ll never charge customers more, no matter how much they use it."

On top of that the provider is also offering 3 Months of FREE broadband and off-peak calls, albeit only on the cheaper of their two packages (listed below).

Orange Broadband & Off Peak Calls
* Up to 20Mbps Download Speed
* Unlimited Usage
* FREE Unlimited Off Peak UK Phone Calls (including 0845 and 0870 numbers)
* FREE caller display and voicemail
* FREE N Class Wireless Router
* 18 Month Contract

Price for Orange customers in network areas: £7.50 per month
Price for non-Orange customers in network areas: £12.50

+ Line Rental at £11.50 per month

Orange Broadband & Anytime Calls
* Up to 20Mbps Download Speed
* Unlimited Usage
* FREE Unlimited Anytime UK Phone Calls (including 0845 and 0870 numbers)
* FREE caller display and voicemail
* FREE N Class Wireless Router
* 18 Month Contract

Price for Orange customers in network areas: £10
Price for non-Orange customers in network areas: £15

+ Line Rental at £11.50 per month

It's important to mention that customers who aren't covered by Orange's unbundled ( LLU ) network area can expect to pay anything from +£10 to £15 extra per month. Orange will no doubt be hoping that this latest move will reverse its fortunes, which recently saw their broadband subscriber base diminish once again from 770,000 at the end of last year to 726,000 at the end of Q1-2011.

UPDATE 1:48pm

However, as one reader has been quick to point out, they still appear to have an FUP style Network Management (Traffic Management) policy in place (here) that penalises P2P and possibly other traffic too. This is what one might expect to find under an FUP. Removing the FUP but leaving restrictions in place could cause a lot of confusion.

UPDATE 21st July 2011

It's been confirmed that Orange is still retaining its Traffic Management despite removing their "Fair Usage Policy", which many consumers are likely to find misleading. FUP's exist to make customers aware of such restrictions. Now new customers will have no idea unless they hunt around the services FAQ.