If you look back at my posting history, you'll see that I was in the same place as you a couple of months ago.
To re-iterate - I was with Orange for 9 years, but due to a combination of laziness and being daunted by the plethora of handsets, operators and plans, I had metaphorically stuck my head under the duvet and stayed with an expensive legacy contract and an ancient handset (the Sony Ericsson P910)
Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to an S3 with Orange - however I then twice returned the upgrade in the cooling off period as I was unhappy with my data allowance. No matter how hard I tried, Orange refused me unlimited data - the only thing they offered on the data side was the garbage BT Openzone. Even though they kept trying to entice me with extra discounts, after much agonising and trepidation - partly because I had always been treated fantastically well by Orange CS - I finally took the plunge and switched to Virgin.
Best thing I ever did - fantastic customer service and a great deal.
S3 £19.99
2700 any network mins
U/L landline mins
U/L Virgin-Virgin mins
U/L texts
U/L data with tethering (truly unlimited with no FUP)
Insurance included.
£36 pcm.
This equates to £27 pcm net of insurance. Of course if you don't want insurance then the deal is not as much of a steal - similarly it's £5 more if you aren't a Virgin Media customer.
They also have a monthly bolt-on which allows you £250 to any 08 number for an extra £5 or so. I did consider it at one time - if I wasn't getting a Digital Media Services package from Virgin media, I might have ditched my landline and taken it. Of course other companies may offer something similar, but I wasn't aware of a similar offer on Orange.
One bonus is that apparently Virgin don't brand their high-end handsets - my S3 is unbranded.
They also seem to be doing stupendous retention deals, which is something I'm hoping is still the case in a couple of years time. For example, I negotiated the following for my mother.
Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus £15
2700 any network mins
U/L landline mins
U/L Virgin-Virgin mins
U/L texts
U/L data with tethering (truly unlimited with no FUP)
Insurance included.
THIRTEEN pounds a month - or FIVE pounds a month net of insurance.
I'm happy with my deal, but I could have wept with jealousy when they gave my mum that. (Her handset is Virgin branded, but at that price, who cares?)
Anyway, if my experience is anything to go by Virgin is the best choice at this moment in time - especially if you want truly unlimited data with tethering. I don't always use huge amounts of data, but the peace of mind of being able to use data at will without bracing yourself for a ridiculous bill is well worth it. I would never voluntarily surrender this benefit again.