carl.robson@bouncing-czechs.com declared for all the world to hear...
> I guess my future isn't Orange.

At £30 per month, you are a below average spender. Your upgrade banding
of 2 confirms this. Average is around £47 per month

When new customers join the network the network does not know what sort
of spender you are going to be, so they take a chance and subsidise the
phone a bit more, in the hope that you'll turn out to be a £60-a-
monther.

With 2 years of billing history behind you the network knows exactly
what kind of spender you are and tailors prices accordingly in order to
balance retention and profit. (The banding system).

The M700 is a brand new device, and it's price also reflects that. The
only way to get cheaper upgrades is to spend more money with the
network. Band 4 and 5 customers get the same, sometimes lower, prices
than new connections.
--
Regards
Jon