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.

The UK's third largest mobile phone company, which has just been acquired by Mannesmann, said it was also doing away with expiration dates for pay as you go call vouchers, and was looking at introducing a text messaging service for prepaid customers.

In an aggressive move to capture a bigger share of the UK mobile phone market, Orange also said it would slash the price of international calls to 20 per cent below that of BT.

Although prepaid mobile phones have taken off in a big way in the UK, consumers still do not use them as much as subscribers. Orange is hoping its price cuts will encourage prepaid customers to use their phones more.