Orange (telecommunications)

Orange S.A.

Type	Public
Industry	Telecommunication
Founded	1994, United Kingdom
Headquarters	Paris, France
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Stéphane Richard, CEO
Products	Livebox, mobile phones
Services	Fixed internet, mobile internet, mobile telephony, landline telephony, IP television, contactless mobile payments
Revenue	46.7 billion Euros (2010)
Profit	€4,677,000,000 [1][2]
Total equity	€35,292,000,000
Owner(s)	France Télécom
Employees	168,694 as of 31 December 2010
Parent	France Télécom
Website	www.orange.com

Orange S.A. is a French multinational telecommunications corporation. It is a global provider for mobile phone, landline, Internet, mobile internet, and IP television services, with 226 million customers^[3] as of December 2011 and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

The brand was created when Hutchinson Telecom acquired a controlling stake in Microtel Communications Ltd during the early-1990s and rebranded it Orange. It became a subsidiary of Mannesmann in 1999 and was acquired by France Télécom in 2000.

Company

History

1990-2000: Orange, a British mobile network operator

The inception of Orange brand was in 1990 in United Kingdom with the formation of "Microtel Communications Ltd"^[4] - a consortium initially formed by Pactel Corporation (American), British Aerospace, Millicom and Matra (French);^[5] and later, to be wholly owned by BAe.^[6] In July 1991, Hutchinson Telecom, a UK subsidiary of the Hong Kong based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, through a stock swap deal with BAe, acquires a controlling stake of 65% in Microtel, who by then had won a license to develop a mobile network in United Kingdom.^[5][6][7]

Subsequently, Hutchison renames Microtel to Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd, and on 28 April 1994 'Orange' brand was launched in the UK mobile phone market. A holding company structure was adopted in 1995 with the establishment of Orange plc. In April 1996, Orange went public and floated on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ,^[8] majority owned by Hutchison (48.22%),^[9][10] followed by BAe (21.1%).^[8] In June 1996, it becomes the youngest company to enter the FTSE 100, valued at £2.4 billion. And by July 1997, the growth strategy pays off and Orange reaches one million customers with the lowest churn rate, and best margins among its competitors.

In September 1998 Orange is launched in Hong Kong and within six months, it climbs to number one position in Hong Kong Cellular market .^[11] In 1999, Orange brand is launched in Belgium and Switzerland; and licenses the brand to various operators in Hong Kong, Australia, Israel and India. In Israel, Orange gains more than 400,000 customers in its first year .^[11]

The stint as a public company came to an end in October 1999, when it was acquired by the German conglomerate - Mannesmann AG for a price equivalent to €7,900 per customer, i.e. US$33 billion.^[12][13][14] By comparison, Deutsche Telekom paid €3,800 per customer when it bought the UK competitor One2One, i.e. UK£8.2 billion.^[15] The Mannesmann's acquisition of Orange triggered Vodafone to make a hostile takeover bid for the German company. Shortly thereafter, in February 2000, Vodafone acquired Mannesmann for US$183 billion and, decides to divest Orange as the EU regulations wouldn't allow it to hold two mobile licences.^[16]

2000-2006: France Telecom Purchases Orange

In August 2000 France Télécom buys Orange plc from Vodafone for a total estimated cost of €39.7 billion.^[17][18][19] In turn, it must part with Orange's Belgian subsidiary (sold in its entirety to KPN^[20]), since it already owns the Mobistar network there.

The mobile telephone operations of Orange plc are merged with the majority of the mobile operations of France Télécom, forming the new group Orange SA. On 13 February 2001, Orange SA is listed in an initial public offering on the Euronext Paris stock exchange at a price per share of 95 Euros, with a secondary listing in London.^[21] In May 2001, Orange SA is listed in the CAC 40,^[22] the benchmark stock market index of the top 40 French companies in terms of market capitalisation.^[23]

In June 2001 the France Telecom Mobile brands (Itinéris, OLA, Mobicarte) are replaced by the Orange brand (“mobicarte” becomes the name of one of Orange’s offers, and the two other brands dropped). On 21 November 2003, France Telecom withdraws the 13.7% of Orange’s shares traded on the Paris stock exchange.^[24]

In 2003 2,000 Orange employees in the United Kingdom become “Phone Trainers” helping customers exploit all the possibilities of their Orange phone. That same year, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia and Telefónica become the founding members of FreeMove.

In 2004 Orange withdraws from Denmark: the operator Orange A/S (formerly Mobilix, established in 1997) is sold to the Finno-Swedish operator TeliaSonera for €600 million, paid in cash .^[25][26]

In 2005 Orange France becomes the first operator to use a national broadband network for mobile phones combining EDGE, which covers 95% of the population, 3G, which covers 60%, and GPRS (low bandwidth Internet), which covers 98%.^[27]

France Telecom, aiming for convergence, uses the Orange brand for its Internet operations, formerly marketed under the Wanadoo brand (along with MaLigneTV in France) from 1 June 2006.

After 2006: Orange becomes the group's single brand

In 2006 Orange becomes the sole brand of the France Telecom group for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries in which Orange operates. Orange Business Services becomes the brand for all its business services offerings worldwide, replacing the name ‘Equant’

In June 2007, Orange and Mid Europa Partners acquire Austrian mobile network company One, re-branding it as Orange Austria. In 2012 this network is sold to Hutchison 3G and the Orange Austria brand is terminated.^[28]

In November 2008 Orange launches five Orange Cinema Series channels. To do so, the French group buys exclusive rights from Warner Bros..^[29] for first runs of all new films, previously held by TPS Star (a subsidiary of the Canal+ Group), as well as all films in its catalogue and rights to the film catalogues of Gaumont, HBO^[30] and MGM.^[31]

Orange also secures exclusive rights to broadcast Saturday evening Ligue 1 football matches from the French Football Federation.^[32] SFR (a subsidiary of Canal +). Free accuses Orange of tied-selling because the Orange channels are only available to its subscribers.^[33] An initial decision of the commercial court, on 23 February 2009,^[34] finds that that offer was indeed illegal but, on 14 May 2009,^[35] a second decision on appeal holds that the Orange Sport offer is not included in the tied-selling; Orange resumes the marketing of the channel the next day.

In 2008 Orange was given permission from Apple to sell the iPhone in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Orange's African markets.^[36]

On 1 January 2009 the Swiss multimedia shops company CityDisc officially became property of the France Telecom group and became Orange CityDisc, the first hybrid shops in Europe to sell not only mobile phones and accessories but also music, films and video games.

On 5 April 2009 France Telecom (Orange) won an Arbitration Court case against Orascom Telecom, condemning OT to transfer its entire stake in Mobinil to FT at a price of E£441,658 per Mobinil share.^[37]

On 8 September 2009 Orange and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom announced they were in advanced talks to merge their UK operations to create the largest mobile operator with 37% of the market. The future of the Orange and T-Mobile brands remain unclear when the deal is completed in November.^[38]

In September 2009 Orange was the first operator to declare that they would be selling the iPhone in the UK once O2's exclusivity had ended. Vodafone announced that they too would be selling the iPhone in the UK but not before 2010.

On 28 October 2009 Orange changed the name of its Luxembourgish telco VOXMobile to Orange.^[39]

On 5 November 2009 Orange Armenia, 100% subsidiary of France Telecom, launched telecommunication services in Armenia.^[40]

On 11 December 2009 Egypt's regulator approved an offer from a unit of France Telecom (Orange) to buy Mobinil.^[41] In 2010 Orange changes CEO. Didier Lombard is replaced by Stéphane Richard.^[42] The company is also reorganised internally, most notably with the arrival of former Culture Minister Christine Albanel as head of communications for the group.^[43]

In mid-April 2010 Orange UK announced that it would outsource the management of its broadband network to BT. Orange will now sell a BT Wholesale product, as opposed to LLU or unbundled broadband. This announcement was greeted positively by broadband commentators, who feel that the move is likely to improve Orange's broadband quality and customer services.^[44]

On 1 July 2010, EE took control of both Orange UK and T-Mobile UK in a joint venture, and all their shops were rebranded 'EE' whilst still displaying the existing Orange and T-Mobile logos.

On 6 October 2010 Orange and T-Mobile enabled customers to opt into roaming between networks when their customer relationship is with the other. This facility has some handset limitations (the reason it was elected to be opt-in). There is no billing impact and Orange and T-Mobile customers continue to be charged "cross-network" rates to call the other network. Since Orange is now the third participant in the MBNL 3G infrastructure company, it is highly likely^{[citation needed]} that this roaming will be extended to 3G infrastructure and potentially a tripartite radio access network and infrastructure sharing among Orange, T-Mobile and 3, creating the biggest single 3G infrastructure in the UK.

On 2 March 2012 Didier Lombard, who remained special advisor to Stéphane Richard, leaves the company.^[45] His departure is shadowed by controversy over his stock options: he is suspected of having stayed with the company longer to wait for the France Telecom share to recover and then exercise his stock option. The share was trading at around €16, whereas his stock options were at €23.^[46]

Landline offers which were previously sold under the France Telecom brand in France are sold under the Orange brand from February 2012.

Subsidiaries and holdings

Orange Business Services

Orange Business Services has been the Orange subsidiary devoted to telecommunication solutions for businesses since 1 June 2006.^[47] Previously, these services were provided in part by Equant. Orange Business Services operates in 166 countries. It supplies mobile solutions to more than 1 million professionals and IP services and networks to 3,700 multinational corporations.

Dailymotion

On 25 January 2011 Orange announces the acquisition of 49% of Dailymotion, the French online video platform, at a cost of €58.8 million. The group also secures an option to acquire all of the shares in the platform in 2013.^[48] This is indicative of a new strategy by Orange, which seeks to offer a full range of multi-screen video to its subscribers.^[48]

Deezer

In late August 2010 Orange acquires an 11% share in the streaming site Deezer. With this acquisition, the operator offers its subscribers a new "Deezer Premium" option: a high-quality paid streaming music service with no advertising and 7 million titles to choose from.^[49]

Studio 37

Created in 2007 Studio 37 co-produces and acquires films, unlike the Canal+ Group’s StudioCanal. The producer Frédérique Dumas starts the studio, which has an initial budget of 30 million Euros. For its growth, Orange negotiates exclusivity agreements with Warner, HBO, Fidélité Films and Gaumont, ensuring a stream of films for its TV Orange Cinema Series package.^[50]

In 2011, Studio 37 co-produced The Artist which went on to win best picture and four further awards at the 84th Academy Awards. This makes it the first silent film to win an award since the original ceremony in 1929.

Libon

In November 2012, Orange Group launched Libon, a VoIP and instant messaging application for smartphones.

Voila

Voila is a multiservice portal created in 1996. In 1998, France Telecom becomes a shareholder of the company and uses its search engine (active since 1999) for its Wanadoo.fr (later Orange.fr) portal.

Cityvox

Cityvox is a network of websites with local content (restaurants, cultural happenings, etc.) created in 1999. Orange purchases the network site in 2008.^[51]

Orange Foundation

In 1987 France Telecom establishes the France Telecom Foundation. On 16 January 2007, the foundation changes its name to Orange Foundation. In 1990 Orange Foundation receives the top award for corporate philanthropy from ADMICAL.^[52] In 1995 Orange Foundation receives the top award for solidarity from ADMICAL.^[52] The Board of Directors of Orange Foundation consists of representatives of Orange, independent personalities and employee representatives. Its purpose is to support projects related to health, particularly autism; education, particularly schooling for girls in developing countries; and culture, particularly group vocal music. Projects supported by Orange Foundation are chosen by committees of experts devoted to each major theme. The Foundation has been involved in 300 to 400 projects per year since 1987.^[53] The Foundation works with international NGOs and local associations involved in long-term projects in countries in which Orange is based for better follow-up of these projects.

Sponsorships

Football

In 1998 Orange becomes the principal sponsor of RC Lens, first through the Ola brand, then through the Orange brand. In 2001/2002 Orange becomes the sponsor of all Ligue 1 football clubs and of five Ligue 2 clubs. It also acquires the mobile video rights for the French championships (Ligues 1 and 2). In 2002 Orange becomes the title sponsor for four years of the Championnat de France de football, renamed to associate the brand: Ligue 1 Orange and Ligue 2 Orange. In 2003-2004 Orange sponsors all Ligue 1 Orange and Ligue 2 Orange clubs. The sponsorship runs until 2008. Orange also acquires the mobile video rights in metropolitan France for the UEFA Champions League. In addition, Orange sponsors the current MTN Ligue 1 and Orange Ekstraklasa. In 2008 Orange receives the television rights for the Saturday evening lineup of Ligue 1, from season 2008/2009 to season 2011/2012, and broadcasts the match on the Orange Sport channel of Orange TV. The acquisition of these rights is the start of strong competition with the Canal+ group. A few weeks later, Orange Sport secures the rights to eight Italian Serie A clubs for home matches (U.C. Sampdoria, Atalanta B.C., A.C. ChievoVerona, Reggina Calcio, A.C. Siena, U.S. Città di Palermo, Udinese Calcio and S.S.C. Napoli). In 2009 Orange becomes the principal sponsor, for eight years, of major matches of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In July 2010 Orange Tunisia becomes the official and exclusive sponsor of Espérance Sportive de Tunis (EST), at a record amount for Tunisian sports. At the same time, the company secures the rights to two other clubs: Étoile Sportive du Sahel (ESS) and CS Sfaxien (CSS). With an already strong presence in Poland, Orange becomes the leading partner of that country’s national team in 2009; its contract is extended until 2014^[54] a year later. In January 2011, Orange partners with UEFA to sponsor UEFA Euro 2012, its largest pan-European sports sponsorship across 11 countries.^[55]

Rugby

In 2001, Orange becomes a sponsor of the French Rugby Federation. In 2007, Orange sponsors the 2007 Rugby World Cup held in France,^[56] along with several teams in the Top 14, including Stade Français and Stade Toulousain.

Advertising slogans

• 1998-2006 : “The Future’s bright, the Future’s Orange”
• 2006-2008 : “Open”
• beginning in mid-2008: “Together we can do more” / “Plus loin ensemble”
• Since November 2010: “Today changes with Orange”

Operations

Landline and Internet

Orange took over the landline and Internet businesses of France Telecom and Wanadoo in 2006. Since then, Orange is the sole brand of France Telecom for landline and Internet services worldwide, with a few exceptions, such as Mobistar in Belgium and TPSA in Poland. Orange’s triple-play broadband Internet offers are supplied through the Livebox. As of 31 December 2010, Orange has 13.7 million broadband ADSL customers worldwide, 67% of whom are in France40.

Livebox

The Livebox is the ADSL modem supplied to Orange’s ADSL and FTTH customers in France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and Tunisia, and to WiMAX customers in Cameroon. It serves as a bridge between the Internet access and the home network through several communication interfaces (Bluetooth, Ethernet, Wi-Fi). The Livebox has evolved over time. The Livebox 1.0 was replaced by version 1.1, the Mini Livebox, followed by the Livebox 2.0. The newest version is scheduled to be rolled out 2012 41. The Livebox is offered on a monthly contract for €3 per month or for purchase for €59. Number of Liveboxes rented in 2008: 7.3 million, a 12.3% increase in one year.^[57]

Orange’s ranking among French ISPs

• Degrouptest bandwidth speed test, April 2010: rated third (average downstream rate of 5.593 Mbit/s)^[58]
• Average score in Internaute’s 16th ISP Barometer, July 2010: 11.7/20^[59]
• Average score in the ISP security comparison by Ghusse, January 2010: 18/50^[60]
• Ranking in the ISP Barometers of Le Monde Informatique and Witbe, June 2009: 6th^[61]

Orange Open

Orange Open is the Orange quadruple play offer launched on 19 August 2010 in France.^[62] As of December 2010, Orange had 300,000 new subscribers to this type of offer.^[63]

Mobile

Orange is the sole brand used in the marketing of France Telecom mobile offers. Orange has combined the Itineris, Ola and Mobicarte brands since 2001. Mobicarte became a special prepaid calling offer. As of 31 December 2010, Orange has 150 million mobile customers worldwide, 17.9% of whom are in France40.Orange France is the leading mobile telecommunications operator in France, with a market share of 45.38% as of 2 November 2009.^[64]

Market penetration and key figures

Country	Operator	Share	Number of customers	Market share	Ranking
France	Orange	100%	24,315 million	42%[65]	1st
United Kingdom	Orange / Everything-Everywhere (EE)	50%	32 million	37%	1st
Spain	Orange	99.85%	11,175 million	22.1%	3rd
Armenia	Orange	100%	600,000	43%	3rd
Belgium	Mobistar	50.2%	3,359 million	32.7%	2nd
Cameroon	Orange	99.5%	2,137 million	42.%	2nd
Ivory Coast	Orange	85%	4 million	42.5%	1st
Egypt	Mobinil	94%[66]	20 million	51.9%	1st
Jordan	Orange	51%	1,514 million	33.7%	2nd
Madagascar	Orange	65.9%	3,8 million	63.2%	1st
Mali	Orange	70.2%	2 million	80%	1st
Mauritius	Orange	40%	552 000	59%	1st
Moldova	Orange	94.3%	1,789 million[67]	64.6%	1st
Poland	Orange	0% (TPSA 50.21%)	14,7 million	30.5%	1st
Portugal	Optimus	38%	3,1 million	19%	3rd
Romania	Orange	96.8%	9,813 million	43.6%	1st
Slovakia	Orange	100%	2,864 million	49.7%	1st
Switzerland	Orange	100%	1,510 million	18.7%	2nd
Kenya	Orange	51%	600,000	5%	3rd
Uganda	Orange	53%
Tunisia	Orange	49%	1 million	8%	3rd
Equatorial Guinea	Orange
Vanuatu	Telecom Vanuatu Limited	50%

Number sources : 2007 annual report /1st half 2008 report - Orange.com^[68]

Content

Beginning in 2003, Orange’s strategy has centred on the acquisition, creation and diffusion of content. This starts with the creation of MaLigne.tv in 2003, later renamed Orange TV, an ADSL television access service and a video on demand service. In 2004, Orange organises a television access service for mobile phones. In 2007, Orange creates Studio 37 and, in 2008, enters into a partnership with France Televisions to broadcast pre-recorded programming from the public national television and to roll out theme channels for sports, cinema and television series. Dubbed Content Everywhere in 2008, the content access strategy is announced simultaneously with the launch of the Orange cinema series television channels,^[69] and aims to offer customers access to all of the company's content, anywhere and from any device.

Video content

Orange TV has been available by satellite + ADSL since 3 July 2008 for customers not capable of receiving ADSL TV by itself or who prefer to reserve their bandwidth for the Internet. Orange acquires the rights from Warner Bros. and HBO for the films, television series and documentaries in their catalogues. The works acquired are broadcast over Orange’s theme channels.

Orange Cinema series

Orange Cinema Series is launched 13 November 2008, along with Orange Sport; it comprises five channels devoted to movies (Orange Ciné Max, Ciné Happy, Ciné Choc, Ciné Novo, Ciné Géant). The channels primarily show films from the Warner Bros. and HBO catalogues. Orange installs additional VOD services on its channels, allowing viewers to watch programmes broadcast in the previous 30 days whenever they like, as well as supplementary programmes from the previous month.

Orange Sport

Orange Sport is launched 13 November 2008. Orange secures the broadcast rights for the Saturday evening lineup of Ligue 1 matches from season 2008/2009 to season 2011/2012, and the rights to home matches of eight Serie A clubs (U.C. Sampdoria, Atalanta B.C., A.C. ChievoVerona, Reggina, A.C. Siena, U.S. Città di Palermo, Udinese Calcio and S.S.C. Napoli).^[70] The acquisition of these rights marks the start of competition for sports programs with the Canal+ group.

Video on demand and remote storage

Orange offers services for video on demand access using the Orange decoder, a computer or a mobile phone. Orange offers free programming from the catalogues of available works of France Television,^[71] M6^[72] and TF1^[73] for one week after their initial broadcast. The Home Library^[74] is a network hard drive where files can be saved and accessed remotely.

Online entertainment

In 1997 France Telecom created Goa, an online entertainment subsidiary. The site is launched as a platform for players of massively multiplayer online games. In 2002 Goa acquires the operating license for Dark Age of Camelot. In 2007 Goa ceases to be a subsidiary and is merged into Orange. In 2009 Orange refocuses Goa.com on online entertainment and gradually ceases to operate massively multiplayer online games. In August 2010 goa.com disappears to become the Orange Jeux portal.^[75]

Music

Liveradio: Created by Orange in 2008, Liveradio is a free, live, on-demand IP radio streaming service. Users gain access through this service to more than 10,000 FM and web radio stations and 11,000 podcasts from 100 different countries.

Business services

.

Orange Business Services combines all of the France Telecom group's Internet, IT and telecommunications operations relating to businesses in France and worldwide, and combines all subsidiaries offering services to enterprises. Business services represented revenue of 7.216 billion Euros in 2010.^[76]

Commercial partnerships

To continue to develop and integrate into new ecosystems, and to increase its portfolio of customers, Orange regularly enters into strategic partnerships with leading international industrial companies, i.e. American, Asian and European groups in fields as wide-ranging as home automation, health and the environment. Partnerships are also formed with research establishments and universities, such as the Institut Telecom, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) and the Ecole Supérieure d'Électricité (Supélec). In addition, Orange finances four research chairs.

Footprint

Orange operates in many of the world’s markets, including, in addition to Metropolitan France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Spain, Romania, Moldavia, Slovakia, Egypt, Switzerland, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, the French overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint Barthélémy, Saint Martin and Réunion), Dominica, Mauritius, Madagascar, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Uganda, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Tunisia, Thailand, Jordan and Morocco. Orange Denmark was sold to the operator TeliaSonera in July 2004,^[77] and Orange Netherlands was sold in 2007.

In February 2013, Orange participated in the bidding for the newly opened Burma mobile licences.^[78]

Europe

Orange is present in the following European countries :

•  Armenia
•  Belgium through Mobistar
•  Spain
•  France
•  Luxembourg
•  Moldova
•  Poland
•  Romania
•  Slovakia
•  United Kingdom, where Orange UK has merged with T-Mobile UK, forming EE, a joint-venture. However, the two companies continue to operate under their respective brand names.

Spain

Orange Spain is the local subsidiary of Orange in Spain. Revenue in 2010 was 3.821 billion Euros. As of 30 June 2011, Orange Spain serves 12.2 million mobile customers, including 6.7 million 3G mobile broadband customers, or 20.1% of the Spanish market,^[79] and 1.2 million ADSL broadband customers. Orange is also present in Spain via the Ya.com brand, which specialises in low-end landlines and Internet.

France

France is served by the subsidiary Orange France, (French pronunciation: ​[ɔʁɑ̃ʒ]). This is Orange’s leading market in terms of revenue, with 23.308 billion Euros in 2010, some 51% of the group’s total revenue. As of 30 June 2011, Orange has 26.7 million mobile telephone customers, including 15.2 million broadband mobile customers and 23.1 million landline customers, including 9.4 million ADSL broadband customers. France is also the country with the largest number of Orange employees, with 60.1% of the group's employees working in France. Orange has 1,200 retail outlets in France.

Poland

Orange is present in Poland through its subsidiary Orange Polska. In 2010, Orange had revenue of 3.934 billion Euros in Poland. As of 30 June 2011, Orange serves 14.5 million mobile telephone customers, including 7.7 million 3G mobile broadband customers and 7.6 million landline and Internet customers, 2.3 million of whom have residential broadband.

United Kingdom

In May 2011, Orange and Deutsche Telecom announced the establishment of a joint venture between Orange UK and T-Mobile: EE.^[80] In January 2014 Deutsche Telekom and Orange confirmed their intention to continue operating EE under its existing joint venture structure rather than floating an initital public offering (IPO) as previously speculated.^[81]

Africa and Middle East

Orange is present in 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East, including those listed below, where it has 59 million customers. It is particularly present in the following countries:

Country	Number of customers (as of 30 June 2011 / in millions of customers)	Additional information
Egypt	30,2	Orange has a majority interest in the MobiNil companies
Cameroon	3,6	-
Ivory Coast	5,5	-
Israel	-	In Israel, Partner Communications Company Ltd. uses the Orange brand under license for its mobile telephone services but does not belong to Orange SA.
Madagascar	2,2	Orange is also based in Madagascar, where business is down due to political instability.
Mali	4,7	Orange acquired a 3G license in late 2009 in Mali, where it already had a strong presence.
Senegal	5,1	-
Tunisia	-	Orange Tunisia acquired a license in Tunisia on 5 May 2010, making it the leading 3G mobile operator with Divona Telecom, the second landline operator and the third mobile phone operator in Tunisia. Having been granted under fraudulent terms, the Tunisian State confiscated the 51% of the company belonging to a son-in-law of Ben Ali on 29 March 2011.[82]

Orange had revenue of 3.212 billion Euros in Africa and the Middle East in 2010

Breakdown of Orange customers

The breakdown of Orange customers in Africa is as follows:^[83]

Country	Number of customers (in millions)
Cameroon	3,6
Côte d'Ivoire	5,5
Egypt	30,2
Madagascar	2,2
Mali	4,7
Senegal	5,1
Other	7,7

Research and development

In 2010 Orange devoted 1.9% of its revenue, or 845 million Euros, to research and development. Since January 2007 Orange has unified its research laboratories and technocentres in the Orange Labs network. As of 31 December 2010 Orange held a portfolio of 7,892 patents, 327 which were filed in 2010.^[84] Orange employs 3,700 people in research and development per year throughout the organisation,^[85] including more than 200 doctoral candidates and post-doctorates.^[86] Orange’s research and development is based on partnerships with industry, suppliers and operators, universities and schools, academic institutes and research programs such as the following:

Partner	Type
China Telecom	Supplier and operator
Deutsche Telekom	Supplier and operator
Bibliothèque Nationale de France	Academic institute
CNRS	Academic institute
INRIA	Academic institute
Supélec	University/School
École Normale Supérieure	University/School
ESSEC - Chaire Media & Entertainment	University/School
École Normale Supérieure - chaire de cryptologie	University/School
Paris Descartes University - chaire pluridisciplinaire	University/School
École polytechnique - chaire Innovation et Régulation	University/School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	University/School
Beijing University of Post and Telecom	University/School
Imperial College	University/School
Agence Nationale de la Recherche	Research program

Infrastructure

Two types of infrastructure coexist in Orange’s research and development: the research laboratories and the technocentres. The latter are responsible for Orange innovations^[87] and consist of multidisciplinary teams of researchers, engineers, and marketing and sales personnel.

Type	City	Country
Technocentre	Chatillon	France
Technocentre	London	United Kingdom
Technocentre	Warsaw	Poland
Technocentre	Amman	Jordan
R&D	-	Spain
R&D	San Francisco	United States
R&D	Beijing	China
R&D	Cairo	Egypt
R&D	Tokyo	Japan
R&D	Issy les Moulineaux	France
R&D	Caen	France
R&D	Grenoble	France
R&D	Rennes	France
R&D	Lannion	France
R&D	Sophia Antipolis	France
R&D	La Turbie	France
R&D	Belfort	France

Partnerships

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Orange has been an official partner of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards since 1997.

Orange African Nations Championship

Since July 2009, Orange has been the official partner of competitions organised by the Confederation of African Football, and in particular the Africa Cup of Nations.^[88]

Cannes Film Festival

Orange has been an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival since 2000, where it exclusively delivers telecom and new media services.^[89]

Glastonbury Festival

Orange has been a partner of the Glastonbury Festival since 1997. The festival also gives Orange the opportunity to experiment; for example, in 2008 it set up an electronic equipment charging station powered by a windmill.^[90]

Deauville American Film Festival

From 2008 to 2011, Orange was the official partner of the Deauville American Film Festival.^[91]

Deauville Asian Film Festival

From 2009 to 2011, Orange was the official partner of the Deauville Asian Film Festival.^[92]

French Open

Orange has been a partner of the French Open80 since 2002.^[93]

European Cultural Season

In 2008, Orange was a major partner of the European Cultural Season^[94]

Sciences Po

Orange has been a partner of the Health Chair of Sciences Po since 2011. The purpose of this partnership is to broaden public debate on the use of Information Technology in connection with health.^[95]

UNICEF

Orange Switzerland has been a UNICEF partner since 2001. As part of this partnership, Orange instituted an award to promote intercultural dialogue.^[96]

Wikimedia Foundation

In April 2009, the Wikimedia Foundation entered into a partnership with Orange so that the latter could include content from Wikipedia on its website and in its mobile services, initially for the countries of France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Spain.^[97]

World Wide Fund for Nature

Orange and WWF entered into a partnership to improve Orange’s energy footprint.^[98] The partnership was renewed in 2011 and aims in particular to organize the collection of used mobile phones and to improve the environmental quality of the group’s retail outlets.^[99]

Controversies

Access to some sites limited

In 2011, following complaints by Internet users, Megaupload accused Orange of not providing sufficient connectivity to its site, thus severely limiting throughput from France, an allegation Orange denies.^[100]

Accusations of false advertising in France

In November 2009, three users lodged a complaint against Orange for false advertising concerning its “Unlimited 3G Key” service.^[101] These customers criticised the operator for the misleading way in which this service is presented, since it isn't in fact unlimited. While it is true that there is no time limit, the user cannot download more than 1 gigabyte per month, thus limiting browsing. Unaware of this, the three plaintiffs browsed beyond plan limits and had to pay additional fees as a result.

Corruption in Tunisia

In March 2011, the information website OWNI uncovered a questionable financial deal that enabled the Orange group to acquire a 3G license.^[102]

Anticompetitive practices in French overseas departments

On 28 July 2011, the Competition Authority fined France Telecom-Orange 27.6 million Euros for having improperly impeded the development of new competing operators in the French overseas departments (primarily Réunion).^[103]

France Telecom-Orange used its dominant position, resulting in particular from its former monopoly, to take unfair advantage of its competitors.

The practices identified by the Authority are:

• excessive rate levels
• As operators of the quasi-totality of the telecommunication infrastructure local loops, making use of the data which they have access to, France Télécom has targeted former subscribers who had switched to a competitor, in order to win them back, offering them specific deals.
• margin squeeze on broadband Internet offers
• maintaining call barring services inconsistent with the prior selection of an alternative operator

Controversy following the suicides of several employees in France

Detailed article: .

Ever since its privatisation in 2004, the corporate culture of France Télécom (of which Orange is a subsidiary) has been slanted towards profitability. This has put pressure on employees and manifests itself mainly by frequent changes of jobs within the company. These forced moves are identified as the principal cause of a large wave of suicides among France Telecom-Orange employees from 2008 to 2009.^[104] Following an investigation, the Inspection du travail (Labour Inspection) told the labour union Sud-PTT that the work organisation at France Télécom “was conducive to generating suffering at work” and “health risks” for employees.^[105] An investigation was conducted by the audit firm Technologia at the request of France Télécom’s management. Of the 102,843 employees in the group’s parent company, 80,080 responded, i.e. a response rate of 77.9%. The fact-finding report revealed a “very poor general feeling”, “strained physical and mental health”, and a “tense and even violent working environment” for some categories of personnel. Working conditions were deemed difficult, mainly for personnel in charge of sales and “customer interventions”.^[104] Given heavy media coverage, these findings were the source of major contention about working conditions.

SMS and MMS propagation of 1 January 2011 in France

On 1 January 2011, Orange users’ SMS and MMS were sent and billed multiple times. The operator agreed to reimburse the excess costs to consumers, explaining that the error came from a “third party operator”^[106] (which turned out to be Bouygues Telecom^[107]), said not to have sent acknowledgements, which caused the messages to be resent. A computer problem at the Bouygues platform was blamed.^[108] During the night of 31 December 2010 to 1 January 2011, more than 930 million text messages were exchanged in France (for the three operators combined), setting a new record compared with the peaks of the previous years.^[109]

Controversies in UK regarding the quality of service

On 21 March 2007 Watchdog, a television series by the BBC focusing on consumer protection, published the results from a broadband survey they held. According to the survey Orange was the worst ISP in the UK. 68% of Orange customers that took part in the survey said they were unsatisfied with Orange's Customer Service, it was voted as the most unreliable broadband provider, and it had the highest number of dissatisfied customers. Two thirds of Orange customers experienced problems cancelling their Orange broadband.^[110]

In response to the problems with Orange UK broadband and 3G broadband during March 2009 and April 2009 the 3G data network has been upgraded to 3.5G and increased signal coverage. This new network can be seen in action on many mobile phones which display network for instance the Nokia N95, when the phone detects the higher speed. The Orange UK mobile broadband USB adapter works with the new network. The 3G networks for all telecommunication suppliers still struggle to get the throughput that was originally advertised when these networks were announced. The UK Telecomms Regulator^[111] has reported on the challenges for all suppliers.

A consumer organisation forum web site known as OrangeProblems.co.uk focuses on the poor level of service provided by Orange Broadband in the UK. Initially set up as WanadooProblems.co.uk, the site focuses on the infamous Orange local loop unbundling and poor customer service but covers a wider range of Orange operations such as lost email, significantly delayed SMTP and outages, suspicions of eavesdropping, et al.^{[citation needed]}

Orange Mobile has been criticised during a Channel 4 News investigation for a lack of security which potentially exposed customer records to fraud.^[112]

In August 2007 Orange was criticised for summarily deleting email accounts tied to old Freeserve and Wanadoo 'pay as you go' dial-up accounts with no warning.^[113]

In August 2008, after well publicised problems with iPhone 3G performances, customers compared their download speed and discovered that Orange in France was capping 3G download bandwidth. Orange admitted capping to 384kbit/s, well below the theoretical 7.2Mbit/s provided by the iPhone.^[114][115] This issue was addressed by Orange with the complete uncapping of the 3G and 3G+ by Mid-September 2008.^[116]

Governance

Overview of governance

Governance of the Orange group is centred in its Board of Directors, Executive Committee and three committees that steer Orange's strategy:^[117]

• Audit Committee: Created in 1997, the Audit Committee comprises three members appointed for indefinite terms by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.
• Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee: Created in 2010, it comprises at least three members appointed by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of its Chairman. Its remit is to examine the main risks and opportunities in relation with the environment, Orange’s policies concerning industrial, the publication of societal and environmental information, and the main orientations of its corporate social responsibility policy.
• Strategy Committee: Created in 2003, the Strategy Committee comprises at least three members appointed by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of its Chairman. The latter chairs the committee. It examines the group’s international development strategic and the strategic mid-term guidelines.

Chairmen

2005: Didier Lombard

2010: Stéphane Richard

Chief Executive Officers

The company is headed either by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, whose title in that case is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, or by another person appointed by the Board of Directors and given the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Board of Directors

The Orange group is governed by a Board of Directors composed of a minimum of twelve members and a maximum of twenty-two members, divided as follows:

• three are appointed by the French State
• three are elected by the employees
• one is elected by the shareholders and represents employee shareholders
• the fifteen other members are appointed by the shareholders

The board members serve for a term of four years.

Composition of the Board of Directors

In 2011, the Board of Directors was composed of 15 members:^[118]

Name	Position
Stéphane Richard	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Bernard Dufau	Independent member
José Luis Duran	Independent member
Charles-Henri Filippi	Independent member
Claudie Haigneré	Administrateur indépendant
Helle Kristoffersen	Independent member
Muriel Pénicaud	Independent member
Jean-Michel Severino	Independent member
Jean-Dominique Comolli	Member representing the French State
Pierre Graff	Member representing the French State
Pascal Faure	Member representing the French State
Caroline Angeli	Member representing the employees
Ghislaine Coinaud	Member representing the employees
Daniel Guillot	Member representing the employees
Marc Maouche	Member representing the shareholder employees
Thierry Franchi	Representative of the Central Committee of the Company
Jean-Philippe Roulet	Secretary of the Board of Directors

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee reports to the Chairman and CEO. Its purpose is to coordinate the implementation of Orange’s strategic orientations and to oversee the achievement of operational, social, technical and financial resource allocation objectives. It comprises thirteen members ^[119] · :^[120]

Name	Title
Stéphane Richard	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Pierre Louette	Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Group General Secretary, France Carriers Division and Group Sourcing and Supply Chain
Gervais Pellissier	Chief Executive Officer Delegate, Finance, Information Systems, United Kingdom JV
Jean-Philippe Vanot	Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Quality, Corporate Social Responsibility
Christine Albanel	Executive Vice President, Communication, Philanthropy, Content Strategy
Vivek Badrinath	Executive Vice President, Enterprise Communication Services
Bruno Mettling	Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Group Human Resources
Thierry Bonhomme	Executive Vice President, Networks and Carriers, Research and Development
Jean-Paul Cottet	Executive Vice President, Marketing and Innovation
Delphine Ernotte-Cunci	Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Orange France
Marc Rennard	Executive Vice President, Operations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia
Benoît Scheen	Executive Vice President, Operations in Europe (except France)
Elie Girard	Executive Vice President, Group Strategy and Development

Financial information

In 2011, Orange had revenue of 45.277 billion Euros from its combined operations and 226 million customers worldwide (-0,5% compared with 2010),^[121] including more than 150 million mobile customers (+9.1% compare with 2009)^[122] and 13.7 million ADSL broadband customers (+3.4% compared with 2009).^[122]

Revenue

in millions of Euros	2011[121]	2010	2009	2008	2007[123]
Revenue	45 277	45 503	44 845	46 712	52 959
EBITDA	15 129	14 337	14 264	16 831	19 043
Operating income	7 948	7 562	7 650	9 754	10 799
Consolidated net income	3 828	4 878	3 402	4 418	6 819

Breakdown of 2011 revenue

in millions of Euros	France	Spain	Poland	Rest of World	Business Services	International Operators and Shared Services	Total
Revenue	22 534	3 993	3 625	8 795	7 101	1 610	45 27
EBITDA	8 569	839	1 347	2 993	1 276	104	1
Operating income	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Breakdown of 2010 revenue

in millions of Euros	France	Spain	Poland	Rest of World	Business Services	International Operators and Shared Services	Total
Revenue	23 308	3 821	3 934	8 248	7 216	1 600	45 503
EBITDA	8 813	765	1 180	2 941	1 299	661	14 337
Operating income	6 567	218	229	1 380	958	1 354	7 562

Other Orange websites

• Orange Partner - Orange Group's developer/partner program, enabling businesses worldwide to commercialize their applications, content or solutions on the Orange network.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orange (telecommunications).

• Orange Business Services
• 3 – new brand set-up by Hutchison Whampoa after Orange.

References

External links

• France Télécom-Orange corporate site
• Orange France

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