CANAL+ and Orange announce their plan to create a joint venture to merge Orange cinem

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Sony Ericsson and Orange announce a new entertainment partnership as they join forces with David Guetta

to bring an exclusive music experience to millions of fans across Europe

Sony Ericsson and Orange are announcing the launch of a new entertainment agreement for 2011 and 2012. This natural evolution of their five-year partnership will bring customers closer to the music, games and entertainment experiences they love.

To launch the agreement, Orange and Sony Ericsson have joined forces with Grammy Award winning DJ and EMI Music artist David Guetta, to give fans greater access to the events, music and lifestyle of this globally acclaimed artist. Launching across 9 countries customers will have access to thousands of VIP tickets for over 20 European concerts and exclusive access to David Guetta’s Ibiza sets every Thursday throughout the summer.

In addition, from June, Orange customers will be able to access David Guetta’s new Android Application via Sony Ericsson’s Xperia handset range. The App will feature behind the scenes videos, new tracks and exclusive content whilst also enabling fans to interact with David Guetta via his Facebook Fan Wall.

Sony Ericsson and Orange are also setting up an exclusive Facebook page where fans will have the opportunity to become the official Orange David Guetta reporter updating the site on their own personal VIP experience at his live events, as they follow him on his summer world tour.

Commenting on the new partnership David Guetta said:
"We already have an important and really active community on the web, and I believe that thanks to the application developed with Sony Ericsson, I will be able to interact with a lot of new fans. They will be able to access my music more easily and I will be able to share how passionate I am about my life as a DJ!"

Pieter Pierle, Vice President, Director Global Account Orange from Sony Ericsson said:
“At Sony Ericsson, we are always looking for ways to reward consumers with exclusive experiences they can enjoy on their Xperia smartphones. David Guetta is a natural partner for us; he is a truly global star and understands the importance of communicating via social media. We are looking forward to delivering some amazing exclusives to Orange customers this year with this initiative.”

Yves Maitre, Senior Vice President, Mobile Multimedia and Devices, Orange, commented: “At Orange we are very excited about this latest step in our long-standing partnership with Sony Ericsson. Together, we have a shared philosophy for delivering music excellence. With this latest agreement with David Guetta we are bringing our customers closer than ever to the music they love, delivering a truly exclusive and interactive experience.”


Sony Ericsson and Orange have a long history of working closely together throughout the device development process to provide a seamless and simple user experience for our customers, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia™ range is the latest to benefit from this partnership.

The Android Application will be embedded into the Sony Ericsson Xperia handsets from June, and will be available as an Android Application for Orange customers to download from the Orange App Shop.

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National premiere: Orange and the Château de Versailles launch “Versailles en direct”- an experimental system of interactive video-conferences for schools

Orange and the Château de Versailles are offering a new visitor experience of the Château and its gardens thanks to a system of remote interactive visits aimed at school children.

Over 170 classes and their teachers from schools in Les Yvelines, Nord Pas de Calais and La Marne will be taking part (from now until December 2011) in live visits to the Château de Versailles from their classrooms. By connecting to a collaborative online platform, the students can visit the Château remotely via an interactive whiteboard or a video-projector. The tour will be presented by a lecturer from the National Museums at the Château.

During the one-hour sessions, the lecturer and the class are filmed by a webcam and can discuss various themes such as the building of the Château, a day in the life of the king, the gardens of Versailles, etc. The lecturer can also control cameras (live) installed in the most important parts of the Versailles estate (above the Hall of Mirrors, in the gardens and in the royal chapel). The tour will be accompanied by videos and music.
This unique programme, which combines education, culture and high speed broadband, enables students to discover the secrets of Versailles together in a fun and interactive way.

This technological innovation initiated by Versailles in 2010 with support from the Ministry of Culture (innovative cultural services programme) has made it possible to set up a video-conferencing system implemented by Orange and the Château de Versailles and developed by Anotherworld – a company created with the support of France Telecom-Orange. Deployed in collaboration with local education boards, this large-scale experiment is an educational first for a cultural establishment. It also opens the door to other areas (tourism, cultural, medical, etc.) in addition to providing solutions which increase access to culture and heritage for people with reduced mobility and those who live far from museums.

Versailles: a laboratory of cultural and educational
This system is the result of a joint approach that aims to use innovation to promote culture and improve the visitor experience. For several years now, the Château de Versailles and Orange have been working on projects that combine culture and innovation under the label of VersaillesLab. Other innovative projects have already been developed in the framework of this programme such as augmented reality with the iPhone and Android “Jardins Versailles” application or visiting the secret parts of the Chateau with the help of robots equipped with cameras that can be remotely controlled over the Internet.

Orange, a partner in these initiatives, is illustrating its capacity to use digital technology to promote culture to a wider audience as well as helping institutions and local authorities to showcase their heritage.

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Orange, in partnership with IBM and the French Tennis Federation, announces Roland-Garros 2011 official Apps for iPhone and iPad

Live coverage of Roland-Garros 2011 highlights

Orange, in partnership with IBM and the French Tennis Federation, is proud to announce the Roland-Garros 2011 official Apps for iPhone and iPad. The French Open is immensely popular, pulling in 458,380 stadium spectators and more than nine million unique visitors to the www.rolandgarros.com site in 2010. Addressing demand for more information and statistics, Roland-Garros 2011 marks the arrival of technological advances for fans and players. This year strong emphasis has been put on interaction and customisation, with an even fuller breadth of service.

New in 2011: Roland-Garros App for iPad


The Roland-Garros 2011 App is now available on iPad, bringing users in France and worldwide instant access to rich, diversified content on the event. Fans will enjoy real-time access to match results and scores, game highlights, photos and videos, score tables, players’ biographies, etc. All content is accessible via Edge/3G/3G+ and Wi-Fi. With data, scores and statistics input and analysed by IBM, tennis enthusiasts can select the information they’re interested in, and customise the application to their own individual tastes.



Orange offers customers premium content with exclusive access to:
Multicast coverage from the five main courts
Video summaries of main matches
Push notifications to track their five favourite players


For the third year running on iPhone

The application provides millions of fans with direct access to tournament highlights via iPhone. Downloads topped 100,000 in 2009 and 350,000 in 2010. So IBM and Orange are now capitalising on the content behind this resounding success, to offer realtime photos, charts, results, highlights, interviews etc., plus streaming videos. The application is available worldwide in two languages (English and French). The application also includes the official Roland Garros radio from iPhone, plus a stadium map and players’ biographies.
As on iPad, Orange offers customers premium content with exclusive multicast coverage from the main courts, video summaries of main matches, and realtime information on the user’s five favourite players.

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France Telecom-Orange presents its strategic and financial ambitions for 2011-2015: adapt to conquer

investors day
As part of the ongoing Conquests 2015 program and building on the plan’s four pillars – customers, networks, international development and employees – France Telecom-Orange presents today its strategic and financial ambitions for the 2011-2015 period during the Group’s Investor Day.

These goals are to be pursued in two separate phases, each with distinct characteristics in terms of growth, EBITDA and CAPEX:
an initial adaptation phase (2011-2013) during which the Group invests in its networks and markets, taking into account current and expected competitive, regulatory and economic conditions. This investment effort aims to anticipate new applications and customer needs in order to strengthen the Group’s market positions and its ability to monetize all identified growth opportunities;
and a conquest phase (2014-2015), during which the Group's goal is the return to sustained growth of both revenues and operating cash flow thanks to the investments made in the previous phase.

1. The adaptation phase (2011-2013) can be defined by the following ambitions:
a Group positioned for growth, with an aim to progressively accelerate revenue growth over the period (CAGR* of +0.6%);
EBITDA stabilized in 2013 above the 2011 level. This trend should be possible thanks in particular to the stabilization of EBITDA in France during this timeframe. The Group has been preparing since 2010 for an increased level of competition in its domestic market.
The Group’s goal is to achieve a cumulative EBITDA of around 45 billion euros in the 2011-2013 period.
This goal notably accounts for the implementation of a new performance plan and the benefits expected from the ramp-up of the procurement joint venture with Deutsche Telekom. Overall, the Group forecasts gross savings of at least 3 billion euros by 2015 (including over 2 billion euros by the end of 2013) versus the cost base in 2010. The performance plan, which is consistent with the implementation of the new social contract in France, focuses in particular on improving customer experience and IT systems, expanding network sharing, pooling service platforms, and optimizing synergies.
an aggressive investment plan aimed at ensuring that the Group is positioned as the best next generation network operator, consolidating its competitive advantage in terms of customer satisfaction, and enhancing the Group’s ability to monetize new growth opportunities.
From 2011-2013, the Group forecasts cumulative CAPEX of around 18.5 billion euros, including 1 billion euros for fiber deployment in France. This represents an average rate of CAPEX to revenues of 12.6% over the period (excluding FTTH in France). The rate of investment is expected to peak in 2012 (~14%) as the deployment of fiber accelerates and the Group fulfills its network coverage and capacity objectives.

Taking these items into consideration, the Group announces cumulative operating cash flow guidance (EBITDA – CAPEX) of around 27 billion euros over the 2011-2013 period, excluding exceptional items.

2. The trends expected in the 2014-2015 conquest phase should reflect the benefits of the preceding CAPEX phase, and translate into the following ambitions:
revenue: the expected revenue growth rate for the period is +2.7% (2013-2015 CAGR), with a return to growth in France and in the Enterprise segment, and a continued solid contribution from Europe and AMEA;
EBITDA, with 3.4% growth (2013-2015 CAGR);
CAPEX, with the return to a normalized investment level of 10% over the period, equal to approximately 9.8 billion euros (excluding FTTH in France, which represents an additional point, for a total CAPEX rate of 11% equal to 10.8 billion euros); and
operating cash flow, with a CAGR of +9% over the 2013-3015 period.

In addition, concerning the ongoing review of its portfolio of assets, one of the other drivers of value creation, the Group does not expect, over the long term, to remain a minority shareholder of assets in which it does not exercise an operational role. In the event of a significant divestiture, the Group will examine the possibility of an additional return to its shareholders.

The Group renews its commitment to paying a dividend of 1.40 euros per share for the 2011 and 2012 financial years. The announced financial goals enable the Group to envisage a stable dividend going forward.


Commenting on the Investor Day, Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of France Telecom-Orange, said: “Our Conquests 2015 business plan now moves into an adaptation phase that is preparing the ground for a subsequent, even more decisive conquest phase. In the pursuit of our ambitions, we will be able to capitalize on a number of positive factors between now and 2015. These include the economic outlook in the countries in which we operate, an increasingly favorable regulatory environment, the quality of our networks, strategic new growth opportunities that we have identified, as well as our new strategy for building partnerships with other players in the digital ecosystem. I am certain, as always, that the competence and commitment of our 170,000 employees will enable us to meet these objectives.”

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Telemark Voice of the Customer report: Orange Business Services gets highest attainable rating from its customers

named “World Class” global data VPN provider for 10th consecutive time

Orange Business Services attained the accolade World Class for the 10th consecutive time and gets the highest attainable rating, based on the Telemark data VPN Voice of the Customer report. It is the only operator to exceed the resilience target in the top quadrant of the Telemark crystal ball.
Based on the Telemark data VPN Voice of the Customer report, Orange Business Services received accolades in four key areas: long-term relationship; secure data transfer; geographical reach end-to-end; and billing at cost center.

The Telemark report illustrates that Orange Business Services:

delights customers in nine key areas
has the wow factor
has committed customers
is the only operator offering outstanding geographical reach
sets a new world record in cost center billing

Attaining the highest attainable rating and meriting the Gold Award is based on an “outstanding” customer rating in the following categories:

indispensable to customers
network availability
secure date transfer
network reliability
geographical reach end to end – still the only provider to offer “Outstanding” geographical coverage
installation not disrupting
support in local language
bills in currency of choice
billing at cost center

According to Janet Watkin, director at Telemark: “By independently measuring the customer experience against benchmarks ranging from acceptable to outstanding buyers of wide area networks are able to compare and contrast the various global service providers on many aspects of service from bid to bill. The results of Telemark’s comprehensive study once again illustrates that the service quality, experienced by Orange Business Services customers, is rated world class.”

“This Telemark ranking is a great recognition of our commitment to customer satisfaction,” said Dominique Espinasse, Senior Vice President, Customer Services & Operations, Orange Business Services. “Ensuring them with an outstanding customer experience is one of our top five corporate priorities and all of the Orange employees embrace a culture of service excellence and continually look for ways to simplify our customers’ lives. We will continue gaining and sustaining customer loyalty by building trustworthy relationships and leveraging best practices that maximize the business value of our services.“

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"World IPv6 Day": Orange plans ahead and prepares for the new internet protocol

On 8 June Orange will take part in "World IPv6 Day" as part of preparations for the move to IPv6 and to encourage the internet industry and web users to use the new protocol.
As a result of the continuing growth of the internet, the stock of available IPv4 addresses has been gradually depleted: the transition to IP version 6 is the only lasting solution to make up this shortage.
In 2008, faced with the shortage of IPv4 addresses, Orange launched a plan to introduce IPv6, covering network hardware, service platforms, the information system and address management rules, thus becoming the first operator to launch an IPv6 VPN solution for businesses, in May 2009.

Orange takes part in "World IPv6 Day"
On 8 June, Orange will take part in World IPv6 Day, sponsored and organised by the Internet Society (ISOC). This event, designed to motivate the internet industry and web users to use IPv6, will provide an opportunity to assess the maturity of IPv6 deployment on the internet in real conditions. It will give the industry a chance to implement tools to measure IPv6 traffic on the internet network, quantify the number of requests for access to servers hosting content accessible via IPv6, and so on.

Orange will be making a range of contributions to the trial day, including providing content accessible via IPv6, deploying IPv6 networks and conducting initiatives to raise awareness of IPv6 use, both internally and externally. For example, Orange Business Services will provide IPv6 access to its website dedicated to business customers for the entire 24-hour duration of the "World IPv6 Day".
IPv6 is the cornerstone of internet service development at Orange. For this reason, the Group's IPv6 strategy (deployment as part of a programme launched in May 2008) is central to the development of the Group's networks as part of its "Conquests 2015" project.

Orange's IPv6 programme to plan ahead and prepare for the change of protocol
IPv4 addresses, which have been used by network-connected devices (such as ADSL routers and smartphones) since the early days of the internet, have now almost all been allocated. This depletion has driven the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), the latest version of the internet protocol (a protocol is the language which machines use to communicate with each other).

Over two years ago, in order to anticipate the global shortage of IPv4 addresses and prepare for the deployment of IPv6, Orange set up a dedicated programme to define and implement the Group's strategy for the roll-out of the new protocol across its network and service infrastructures. The IPv6 programme covers fixed and mobile environments, and the residential and business markets, in all Orange countries worldwide. IPv6 is already operational in the business market, and a three-phase deployment schedule is planned for the residential market (introduction: 2008-2009, service migration: 2009-2012 and live release: 2012 and beyond) depending on the estimates of address shortages made by the Group's different entities.

The introduction of IPv6 is complex, both in terms of the technology involved and from a project management perspective. As with other far-reaching programmes, such as the transition to 10-digit phone numbers in France in 1995, and the introduction of the Euro, there is a vast array of hardware and IT applications to check and modify. It is therefore necessary to conduct trials and to take stock of the hardware and applications concerned.

IPv6 deployment on the internet is complicated because the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols are not compatible with each other. A transition phase is in progress using hardware capable of processing IPv4 and IPv6 traffic interchangeably. This phase will last several years because, unlike other major projects, the move from IPv4 to IPv6 is not scheduled to take place across the board at a precise date and time.

deployments and tests under way at Orange
The Group began IPv6 activity in 2010 in Belgium, France, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Senegal, and pilot deployments in these countries will continue throughout 2011. France performed a trial in collaboration with around one hundred internal testers equipped with prototype IPv6 Liveboxes. In terms of mobile technology, Orange France has also successfully tested IPv6 connectivity. Other Orange countries will conduct tests throughout 2011, including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius and Spain.

For business market customers, who need to plan ahead for this new protocol, in order to facilitate their business development (especially for the Asian market), Orange Business Services launched an IPv6 VPN (Virtual Private Network) service in May 2009. These services comprise six stages: inventory, technical design, security, transition strategy, setting up a project team, and implementation.

the benefits of IPv6
By using 128-bit rather than 32-bit addresses, IPv6 offers many more addresses than IPv4 (billions of billions instead of four billion).
As such, the new IPv6 version of the internet protocol is characterised not only by almost unlimited addressing capacity, but also by automated configuration capabilities (plug&play) making internet access simpler and more effective.
In addition, IPv6, which also offers security benefits, can be regarded as a catalyst for the development of new services. These include machine-to-machine communications, which will make it possible, for example, to monitor a domestic lighting system remotely or quickly detect movement or smoke at home.

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Orange opens up access to High Definition Voice for its customers

A pioneer and leader for High Definition Voice and the only global operator to offer HD Voice on its mobile and fixed networks, Orange is continuing to move forward with its strategy to open up access to HD Voice, making it the standard for future communications, on both fixed and mobile.


Genuine comfort for the quality of voice communications
HD Voice delivers better audio quality, ensuring real satisfaction for Orange customers, in terms of both fixed and mobile. This is reflected in a feeling of closeness, as well as a clearer, richer and more natural sound, an effective adaptation to noisy environments through significant background noise reduction, and a good understanding of conversations, even when whispered.

Orange's ambition is to open up the use of HD Voice communications by 2013
Almost one million customers have already adopted mobile HD Voice, and further launches are planned for 2011, particularly in the Africa, Middle East and Asia (AMEA) region:
in June: in the Dominican Republic and Uganda
between now and the end of 2011: Switzerland and three countries in the AMEA region will also be launching this service, taking the number of countries that have adopted mobile HD Voice up to 16.

For reference, Orange already offers mobile HD Voice in the following 10 countries: Moldova, Armenia, Belgium, France (mainland France and Reunion), Spain (Catalonia), the UK, Egypt (Cairo), Luxembourg, Mauritius and Romania.

With one million Orange customers to date, mobile HD Voice with Orange has been an outstanding commercial success, thanks to its wide range of compatible mobiles (over 20 references).

Orange is launching fixed HD Voice in Spain, Poland and Tunisia in 2011.
Other countries are also showing a significant interest in launching this service in 2012. To date, fixed HD Voice already has 800,000 customers.


Exclusively with Orange, the Samsung SMT W3510, the first high definition voice fixed phone

In a few days time, Orange will be releasing the very first fixed HD phone incorporating version 2 of "CAT-IQ", which is replacing the "DECT" standard. The Samsung SMT W3510 offers excellent acoustic quality and is very easy to use, thanks to its highly user-friendly interface. It will further strengthen the range offered by Orange: five fixed HD handsets from four different manufacturers - Sagem, Alcatel, Thomson and Samsung.


More interoperability: moving towards a "seamless" high definition voice service
In order to offer "seamless" HD Voice for its customers, Orange is preparing for the next major steps:
- in 2012/2013, HD Voice interoperability between Orange countries and also between the fixed and mobile networks in a given country.

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Orange launches the Orange Labs Prime Zone site

The Orange Labs Prime Zone site was launched today, allowing Internet users to access and comment on mobile and tablet applications developed by the Orange Labs teams.

get an exclusive preview of new technologies and concepts
The Orange Labs Prime Zone site, http://primezone.orange-labs.com, enables all Internet users, Orange customers or not, to access mobile and tablet applications designed by the Orange Labs teams. The site provides a platform that allows users to download new applications for free from the usual application stores. Internet users thereby gain an exclusive insight into the latest technologies and concepts currently being used for the development of new applications.

Dedicated areas on the Orange Labs Prime Zone site also allow users to share their first impressions of the downloaded applications. They can leave comments, suggest functional or technical improvements, report any bugs and even put questions directly to the team who designed the applications (researchers, developers, ergonomists, design engineers).

In addition, users can find out about the latest applications available on the website via the Facebook page and the Twitter account of the Orange Labs Prime Zone site.

an international site open to everyone
Available in French, English, Spanish and Polish, the site proposes applications for a range of different handsets (iOS by Apple, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry, or OVI by Nokia) and in different countries, in order to give everyone the chance to express their opinion on the ideas and innovations being explored by the Orange Labs teams throughout the world. The site offers different applications to download according to the country, in order to respond to local needs and specific constraints.

meeting our customers’ needs as closely as possible
Thanks to the Orange Labs Prime Zone site and feedback from users, the Group’s R&D teams and experts from other entities will be able to detect and adapt those concepts and technologies that best respond to customers’ needs and improve their experience as mobile users. Applications generating users’ interest could even become the Orange brand's flagship applications of tomorrow.

In creating the Orange Labs Prime Zone site, the Group’s R&D teams’ aim is to enable our customers to take part in designing the key applications of the future. The Orange Labs Prime Zone site places the customer at the heart of innovation and creates greater intimacy between the teams who design the applications and users of the applications. The site represents a significant step forward for the Group, by enabling its teams to continue to innovate in services and uses, and offer superior customer experience.

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TeliaSonera joins the M2M Service Cooperation Agreement of France Telecom-Orange and Deutsche Telekom

The agreement secures the availability and reliability of M2M roaming services on a global scale; and
enhances M2M services available in France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, UK and now Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania

TeliaSonera has signed the cooperation agreement with France Telecom-Orange and Deutsche Telekom to increase the quality of service and interoperability for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. The agreement, which initially was signed by France Telecom-Orange and Deutsche Telekom in February 2011 to cover France, Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg, has since then added the Netherlands (Deutsche Telekom) and most recently the UK through Everything Everywhere to its purview. The M2M service footprint will now extend to cover TeliaSonera’s geographical reach, including Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania.

While roaming agreements have been managed bi-laterally only, concentrated within single markets, this multi-lateral cooperation agreement will provide roaming services with enhanced service quality across the countries that have signed the agreement, thus enhancing customer experience. Continuous connection quality and network interoperability ensure M2M services for both machines and goods on the move (in the transportation and automotive industries, for example), and for customers whose business models require continuous access (eHealth providers, for example). So dedicated network supervision processes and interoperability are vital in leveraging the relatively low volume but highly critical data collected by these devices and delivering cutting-edge applications to users.

Against this background both the partners and the customers using M2M solutions will benefit from operability across borders and enhanced M2M service quality in the mobile networks of the cooperation members. But the three groups are not only focused on enlarging the M2M service footprint, but also to keep an elevated level of innovation, by extending the M2M service portfolio and by entering into further partnerships in the M2M market segment.

“With this agreement, now three groups are significantly pushing the boundaries of the M2M ecosystem,” said Anne-Marie Thiollet, Executive Vice President Enterprise Line of Business, Orange Business Services. “Global availability and reliability will spur the commercial adoption of M2M services and will stimulate new innovations. We are happy to welcome TeliaSonera as a member of our partnership and look forward to other carriers joining us in this endeavor; only by working together can we make the great promise of M2M a reality.”

A key feature of the agreement is the incident and troubleshooting capability that France Telecom-Orange, Deutsche Telekom and TeliaSonera will be improving to ensure the best quality of roaming services to their customers. Because machine-to-machine communication is business critical for M2M customers, all M2M roaming services will have a dedicated support component, significantly improving previous industry attempts at troubleshooting and providing much shorter repair time compared to regular procedures.

"M2M has a very large economic potential and this cooperation with three of the strongest brands in the market enhances our international offers,” said Håkan Dahlström, President of Mobility Services, TeliaSonera. “We know that the services connected to M2M communication in many cases is vital for business and puts clear requirements on us as a communication operator. The cooperation will enhance a better customer experience cross border in our markets and increase quality in our offers that will support the development of M2M services,” Håkan Dahlström concludes.

Enhanced M2M interoperability will also be maintained as the three partners conduct joint testing to harmonize module standards. Module certification will enable the most optimized interoperability between module and network. This will lead to a stable module performance in all countries covered by the three groups, enabling a quicker and more optimized integration of the modules in M2M customers’ devices and machines.

“M2M communication is an enabling technology for e-Energy, e-Health, Connected Home and the Connected Car, for example, to bring about the internet of things. The M2M market has been growing exponentially lately, with potential for enterprises to drive new business, improve performance, reduce cost, and protect the environment,” said Dr. Rainer Deutschmann, Senior Vice President Mobile Products, Deutsche Telekom. “With our growing partnership, multinational companies will now have a more efficient and reliable path to implement global M2M solutions.”

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Orange organizes the recycling of used mobile phones from Africa with support from Emmaüs International

Orange announces the arrival in France of the first container loaded with 8 tons of used mobile phones from Burkina Faso, as part of its partnership with Emmaüs International.
In line with its commitment to recycle mobile handsets, initiated in 2005, Orange is encouraging the creation of workshops in Africa to collect used mobile phones and prepare them for recycling
This initiative is part of the partnership with the Ateliers du Bocage, members of Emmaüs International, which also recycles the mobiles collected by Orange in France.

8 tons of used mobiles leave Africa for recycling in France
A first container loaded with 8 tons of used mobile phones has arrived in France by boat from Burkina Faso. These mobiles were routed to the Ateliers du Bocage, the starting point for their recycling. Other containers will follow in the coming months.

As a socially responsible company, Orange wants to manage the end of the lifecycle for African mobiles. With no organized mobile recycling available on the continent, Orange is offering a recycling solution in France in partnership with the Ateliers du Bocage at Le Pin in the Deux-Sèvres department.

To manage the mobile lifecycle from end to end and prevent mobiles from ending up in open air dumps in Africa, Orange joined forces with Emmaüs International to open workshops for used mobile phone collection and reconditioning in Africa. The objective is to collect mobiles at the end of their lifecycle for recycling in Europe, where the reconditioning plants are located.
As of the end of May 2011, nearly 17.5 tons of this waste had been collected in Burkina Faso – the equivalent of 118,000 mobiles – since the project was kicked off, and 2.2 tons in Benin.

“Orange is pleased to be able to offer an innovative, responsible, end-to-end recycling system today, illustrating our mobilization for and solidarity with social economics,” says Delphine Ernotte, Executive Director of Orange France.

Following Burkina Faso and Benin in February 2011, Orange opened a third workshop in Madagascar on July 4, 2011, and it plans to open a fourth in Niger in late 2011. The project aims to cover a dozen countries within the next two to three years.

Partnership between Orange and Ateliers du Bocage, members of Emmaüs International
Orange has been working since 2009 with Ateliers du Bocage, which processes all of the used mobiles collected in Orange boutiques in France and internally. Ateliers du Bocage facilitates the social integration of persons in difficulty by helping them re-join the working world.


In 2010, Orange’s actions in favour of recycling – collecting mobiles in Orange boutiques and offices, from major business customers of Orange, from returns of defective mobiles and through the “mobile second life” offer – have collected more than 300,000 mobile phones in France.

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France Telecom-Orange signed an agreement on the organization of experiments with a view to improving working conditions

On 7 July 2011, France Telecom-Orange signed an agreement on the organization of experiments to with a view to improving working conditions with CFDT, CFTC and CGT, representing 56 % of the votes cast during recent workforce elections. This agreement is part of the “Conquests 2015” business plan and the Group’s new social contract, one of whose priorities of which is to improve the quality of worklife.

the purpose of the agreement is to:
define a national framework for negotiating the organization of experiments locally (primary establishment, secondary establishment, subsidiary).the objective of these experiments is to significantly improve working conditions for all of the Group's employees.
the agreement is a first step in negotiations on "improving working conditions", with the parties agreeing to continue negotiations, particularly on the working environment and workstation

The proposed experiments should be designed to prevent psychosocial risks and improve working conditions. They may be proposed by Management and by at least two locally representative labour organizations.
The organization of the experiments will be subject to local negotiations with locally representative labour organizations.
Each experiment must specify the initial conditions, desirable changes/improvements, objectives of the experiment, scope of the experiment, employees involved, duration of the experiment (maximum of one year), the criteria used to assess the experiment, etc.
Indicators will be identified for each experiment and followed up to assess its economic, qualitative and social efficiency.
At the completion of the experiments, a report will be drawn up, presented and discussed with the representative labour organizations having signed the local agreement. The report on these experiments will serve to identify areas for consideration and actions to widely institute new ways of working.

Group HR Director Bruno Mettling said “I am delighted by the signature of this agreement, which is integral to the negotiations on stress opened in 2009 and an important milestone in implementing the new social contract.”

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“TVcheck”, the new app which aspires to revolutionize the social TV experience

TVcheck is a free app developed by Orange which will be available on July 12th to all iPhone users so they can rediscover TV with their community

TVcheck is the first iPhone application which automatically recognizes the program the users are watching

A social app which provides a new multi-screen experience for discussing TV content

Quizzes and challenges to become the Master of programs or TV channels and win badges


With social networks and multi-screen functions now part of everyday life, you no longer want to wait until the following day before you can talk about and comment on the TV shows you watch. Was the presenter a bore? Did the singers do a great job? Did the umpire have his eyes shut throughout the match? What you want is to make comments in real time using your smartphone. That’s why on July 12th, Orange is launching a free application called TVcheck which offers a new communication and game experience based on TV content to all iPhone users, whatever operator they use. "We are all looking for shared digital experiences to stay connected with others. With TVcheck, there's no need to wait until the next day to talk about a good show seen the evening before. One can immediately do it when sitting in front of the TV in the living room", said Patrice Slupowski, VP Digital Innovation & Communities. Currently available for iPhone, the application will soon be made available for other mobile operating systems.

TVcheck, a dedicated social app for TV content
Unlike ordinary social networks, TVcheck is a dedicated social network for TV targeting both occasional and serious TV watchers. The application allows users to share their thoughts on the show they are watching thanks to a number of social features such as status updates, comments and program recommendations. Users will be able to log in using their Facebook credentials, making it easy for them to add friends’ from their Facebook account. Each user has their own profile, which gives them access to an activity log, messages and friends and enables them to display their favourite programs using the "I like" function on each program’s page.

Program pages also allow users to recommend the program to their friends. During the broadcast, members can view all the comments made on that page. You can then easily add friends to your network by contacting members with the same television interests as yourself.

Scan and share your favourite shows
TVcheck is the first application for iPhone that offers automatic program identification based on visual recognition technology. The application recognises shows broadcast on the 19 French DTTV channels. Based on the automatic detection function, discussing what you watch on TV is now an even more enjoyable experience. What’s more, you no longer have to look at the TV guide, just trust your friends'.

Play and watch TV at the same time
TVcheck offers users a new TV experience by combining the power of the social network with games. All popular programs have their own badge. By using the check function, you can win points which go towards badges.
The most actively involved users win the title of ‘Master’, i.e. the member who has won the most number of points on a program or channel. TVcheck also offers a number of surprises to Masters, including the chance to watch their TV shows being recorded.

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CANAL+ and Orange announce a proposed editorial, commercial and technology partnership for the Orange Cinema Series TV package

Bertrand Meheut, Chairman of CANAL+ Group, and Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange, announced today the finalization of their proposed strategic partnership, which calls for CANAL+ Group’s acquisition of a 33.33% minority interest in Orange Cinema Series. As a result, Orange will hold a 66.66% share of Orange Cinema Series, while CANAL+ Group would hold 33.33%, with governance provided by both partners in proportion to their percentage of interest.

This partnership strategy offers multiple advantages. In particular, the agreement provides for:
content production continuity for the Orange Cinema Series package of five channels by maintaining the brand, its current names (Orange cinemax, Orange cinehappy, Orange cinenovo, Orange cinechoc and Orange cinegeant) and related interactive services;
broader distribution: Orange will continue to distribute its multichannel package and related interactive services to its customers; CANAL+ will offer the package to all CANALSAT subscribers; and the partnership plans to make the service available to all interested operators;
a more balanced business model thanks to wider distribution of the Orange Cinema Series service.

This agreement will also strengthen the existing partnership between Orange and CANAL+ for the distribution of CANAL+ and CANALSAT products and services within the Orange network.

Orange and CANAL+ will build on their respective know-how in technology, particularly in new services, as well as in content production.

For Stéphane Richard, “This project with the CANAL+ Group is yet another illustration of the partnership strategy for content we presented in June 2010. Our goal is to promote the content of our production partners and to offer our customers innovative packages and services that build on the experience we have acquired in recent years and, of course, on our networks. To continue to develop the Orange cinema series package, of which we can be proud and which continues to be offered in its present form to our 400,000 customers, I know that we can rely on the formidable know-how of CANAL+ in the production and marketing of premium channels.”

For Bertrand Meheut, “This partnership with Orange, the ADSL market leader in France, is in line with our strategy of multiplatform distribution: making our offers as widely available as possible on all broadcast networks. This is a natural bridging of our respective know-how in technology and content production to make quality offers to all television viewers, accompanied by the most innovative services”.

Information on the partnership has been presented to employee representative bodies and will be subject to their review and to the approval of the competent authorities.

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ollow Orange in real time with Orange timeline, the Group’s twitter stream aggregator

Orange is inviting web-users to keep up with its news in real time on its new Orange timeline platform, which goes live today at: http://timeline.orange.com.
Orange is the first large group to aggregate all of its official Twitter accounts. Close to sixty Orange feeds will be offered at launch on Orange timeline. The accounts of Orange employees who want to join the community will also be added progressively. The platform uses simple and innovative navigation to explore Orange’s social media content. The messages appear as the mouse pointer passes over miniature images. Each of the 400 images represents a tweet and is a sort of pixel which forms part of an overall image. The whole page is updated in real time, providing a fresh experience at every visit. The overall image, with the hash symbol as a default, will change to follow the news.

This new space highlights the diversity of the Group’s twitter feeds, showcasing different themes. Surfers will find tweets about Orange Rockcorps (UK) at @orangerockcorps, Group information at @presseorange, business perspectives at @orangebusiness and Orange’s activities in countries where the brand operates, such as the Dominican Republic at @orangeRD or Jordan at @Orange_JTG...

Orange timeline is the first step towards simplifying access to the wide variety of social media content that is already available at Orange. The Group has a varied and extensive presence in the digital world: Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, blogs, a Dailymotion account, web tv, and more.
Orange timeline is the first innovation to showcase the wealth of Orange’s daily contribution to a key social network like Twitter.

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Laurent Biojoux, new Customer Relations Director of Orange France

Laurent Biojoux was appointed Customer Relations Director of Orange France, effective 18 July 2011.

Orange France combines the operational activities of France Telecom Orange on French soil. With almost 80,000 employees, including 40,000 employees who deal with customers and more than 31,000 in the information technology and network professions, Orange France had 2010 revenues of more than 23 billion euros, nearly half of the Group’s activity.

Each year, the 20,000 customer advisors at Orange France’s telephones process 100 million calls.

Laurent Biojoux will be responsible for installing a new Customer Relations strategy for Orange France, for improving service quality, and for customer relations, one of the four strategic areas of the “conquests 2015” business plan.

Laurent Biojoux, age 48, a graduate of the Institut Européen des Affaires de Paris in 1988, was previously in charge of the network of 600 stores and Customer Relations management for Bouygues Telecom, an operator frequently recognized for excellence in this field.
He also worked for Chronopost in these same areas for 9 years, from 1990 to 1998.

Laurent Biojoux founded the Association Française de la Relation Clients (AFRC, the French customer relations association) and remains a director, having been General Manager for more than 10 years.