Orange UK is to step-up rollout of its HSPA network, vowing to offer download speeds of up to 7.2Mb/s in the top 30 UK cities within 18 months and to double speeds to 14.4 Mb/s in five cities next year. The plan is part of an overhaul of the business by new UK CEO Tom Alexander, who joined the company from Virgin Mobile UK earlier this year. The company also plans to rollout a further 450 new 2G basestations, and aims to unbundle another 100 exchanges in its fixed-line infrastructure by year-end, bringing its total to 950 unbundled exchanges nationwide.

In addition, Orange UK’s business plan includes a new call centre strategy that will see the operator stop expansion of its Indian call centre partnerships and bring more centres back to the UK, beginning with its contract customers. The strategy will result in 500 new UK jobs in customer services, though the company will axe up to 450 roles in “administration, management and support functions.” Under a new management structure the business will split into two teams, Consumer and Business.