Orange Romania, the biggest local telecom group, has launched a new service, Top Upgrade, which allows its clients to lease the latest iPhone models for a monthly fee.

The option is available for Orange clients who sign two-year subscriptions of lower values, such as Orange Me 11, Orange Me 17, and Orange Me 23. Clients will choose the iPhone version they want. For now, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are available with 32 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB internal memory.

The monthly fee for the service will depend on the iPhone model chosen and on the subscription value. The cost will also include a monthly insurance premium of EUR 10.

The lowest monthly fee for the service is EUR 59, which includes the rent for an iPhone 7 32 GB, an Orange Me 11 subscription and the insurance.

Each year, when the new iPhone model is launched, the Top Upgrade clients can return their old iPhone and ask for the new one. They will sign a new contract for two-years to benefit from the new phone.

The main advantage of this service is that it allows clients to use the latest iPhone models without paying hefty initial fees. For example, Orange sold the iPhone 7 32 GB for EUR 429 with an Orange Me 42 subscription worth EUR 42 per month while the full price with no subscription was EUR 749. Even so, the iPhone 7 is currently out of stock on Orange’s online store.

The Top Upgrade program is only available in Orange shops and is available for Orange existing clients with a good payment history of at least 12 months.

Orange had 9.85 million clients at the end of June and EUR 476 million revenues in the first six months of this year.

Local telecom operators announce prices for the new iPhone 7 in Romania

editor@romania-insider.com