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

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France Telecom-Orange passes an important milestone in its FTTH fiber-optic program outside very-dense areas

France Telecom-Orange has published its third party-operator access offer for its FTTH fiber-optic network outside very-dense areas, and has signed an agreement with Free (Iliad Group) concerning fiber deployment in these areas that is due to begin in 2011 and 2012.

This offer and this first agreement with an operator - Free (Iliad Group) - fall within the ongoing high-speed broadband roll-out program announced on 3 February 2011, which followed the Group’s response to the French government’s request for detailed information on its plans to invest in Very High-Speed Broadband networks (Appel à Manifestation d’Intention d’Investissements). The program, on which France Telecom-Orange will spend 2 billion Euros by 2015, aims to bring fiber-optic networks to 3,600 French municipalities (communes), covering 10 million households by 2015 and 15 million households by 2020 (corresponding to 17 million homes), totalling nearly 60% of French households.

Outside the areas defined as “very dense” by the French telecoms regulator ARCEP, this program will cover 3,440 municipalities totalling 11 million homes by 2020 and will include all “medium-sized” towns in France.

The regulatory framework for FTTH roll-out outside very dense areas was established at the start of the year. This has enabled France Telecom-Orange to put together its wholesale offer, which was published on 19 July 2011. This offer, which was presented to ARCEP before publication, has been submitted to the principal FTTH operators. In line with the principles outlined by ARCEP, this offer enables the mutualisation of networks outside very-dense areas thereby giving end-users the freedom to choose the service-provider they desire. The offer is open to all operators.

France Telecom-Orange is delighted that Free (Iliad Group) has decided to subscribe to the offer for the agglomerations (towns and surrounding areas) in which Orange plans to begin the deployment of fiber in 2011 and 2012. Under this program, close to sixty agglomerations, including a total of some 1,300 municipalities (communes) or 5 million homes, will be covered by 2020. In parallel, France Telecom-Orange is continuing active discussions with interested operators.

The deployment of these networks will take place in close cooperation with the relevant local authorities.

It is a major new milestone in the deployment of high-speed broadband in France.

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BNP Paribas and Orange partner to launch the first entirely mobile banking offer in France

BNP Paribas and Orange have formed a partnership and signed a trademark licence agreement to launch innovative mobile banking services in November 2011.

This strategic business partnership allows the groups to share expertise in their respective areas of excellence. It brings together the world of information and communication technologies and the world of banking. Starting in November, BNP Paribas customer advisors will be able to offer mobile banking services - unique in France - in all 2,250 branches (also available through Internet banking). Customers will be able to access the most innovative m-banking and m-payment services to manage their accounts and make payments using their mobile phones. The aim is to equip thousands of BNP Paribas customers with smartphones over a three-year period to combine the very best mobile services and banking services.

Innovation is a key factor of differentiation for the banking industry. As part of its Internet and Mobile acceleration programme, BNP Paribas was the first bank to be on the iPad in May 2010. It also created ‘La Net Agence’ - the first completely on line branch, which now has over 12,000 customers. 2 Opéra, the BNP Paribas Concept Store, opened its doors in December 2010 and each month over 300,000 customers do their banking using their mobile phones. BNP Paribas was one of the first banks to offer contactless mobile payments services in Nice in June 2010 and has further invested in order to extend this pilot to other large French cities.

Orange wants to combine partner services, which in addition to their specific benefits are from well known and recognised brand, with it mobile telephone offers. This partnership is in line with Orange’s ambition to develop new innovative services. The launch of the Citzy Pass in the spring of 2010 in Nice to develop new near field communication technologies (NFC) is also part of this approach.

When signing this partnership deal on 25 July, François Villeroy de Galhau, Head of Retail Banking in France, said: “Thanks to this partnership we are promoting new uses and we are creating a new way of managing bank transactions. Orange’s expertise means that we can offer all our customers mobile banking and as a result of this inclusive and innovative offer, BNP Paribas has now become the first mobile bank in France”.

“For Orange, this partnership is an opportunity to explore new territories and to continue offering our customers more and more innovative services. It relies on Orange’s and BNP Paribas’ expertise to propose the best of both our worlds” explained Delphine Ernotte, Executive Vice President of Orange France.

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Marc Blanchet, new Enterprise France Director

Marc Blanchet has been named Director of Enterprise France, effective 1 October 2011. His mission will be to improve customer satisfaction, increase revenues and sell convergent and IT offers on markets under his responsibility.

The Enterprise France Department markets Orange Business Services products and services in France, excluding key accounts. With a portfolio of 2 million Professional and Small/Medium Business customers and 60,000 companies with more than 50 employees, the Enterprise operations of Orange France brings together nearly 12,000 employees and a network of 13 enterprise agencies across France.

Marc Blanchet, age 44, is a graduate of École Polytechnique, École Nationale Supérieure des Telecommunications, and École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. His entire career has been with France Telecom-Orange. In the past ten years, France Telecom-Orange has entrusted him with a number of different operational and management responsibilities, initially in the regions, where he was Unit director starting in 1995, and then with the Group’s finance department. In 2003, Marc Blanchet joined the Enterprise operations of France Telecom-Orange as President of Cofratel, then as head of Integration Services operations. Starting in 2007, he directed the Network Solutions operations of Orange Business Services before becoming Senior Vice President of Global Communication Solutions in 2010, where he was in charge of Network, Voice and Mobility strategy and development. At the same time, he was President of Equant France.

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Orange and Baidu partner exclusively on an enhanced mobile browser for customers in Africa and the Middle East

Exclusive partnership to help drive mobile data adoption in markets where Orange is seeing an increased demand for mobile data and smartphones.

Baidu signs its first global operator agreement with Orange, on an exclusive basis, to co-develop an enhanced mobile browser designed for emerging markets.
The new browser, available in Arabic, English, and a French version in development, will be pre-installed and available via download on Android devices across Orange’s African footprint in 2013.
Demand for smartphones and the mobile web is on the rise across Africa & the Middle East – in Egypt, Orange has seen demand for Android devices double in the second half of 2012.
The Orange-Baidu browser will provide a more affordable and richer browsing experience for customers across AMEA due to its enhanced data compression capabilities (up to 90% of compression), and one-click access to web-based apps and internet services.

Orange has signed a strategic partnership – on an exclusive basis – with Baidu, the Chinese internet company, to develop a co-branded internet browser for smartphone customers in Africa, the Middle East and Asia (AMEA). The partnership marks the first time Baidu has signed such an agreement with a global operator, and supports Orange and Baidu’s aim to make the mobile web available for all in emerging markets.
Mobile internet usage in Africa is increasing rapidly as Orange continues to deploy 3G networks and make more low-cost smartphones available, customers have been steadily moving from basic feature phones towards more low-cost Android smartphones. Orange, which has a mobile customer base in AMEA of nearly 80 million customers, has continued to see its smartphone user base in AMEA increasing, for example the demand for Android devices in Egypt has doubled in H2 2012.
The new Orange and Baidu browser offers a highly customisable but simple interface for customers in AMEA, enabling them to access web-based apps and internet services unique to Baidu and Orange, as well as services like Wikipedia, Facebook or Twitter, amongst others. Customers benefit from a new, feature rich user interface that provides one-click access to all of their preferred local and global services but also benefit from a browser that is much faster and more data efficient compared to other browsers, reducing the amount of data consumed by 30-90% depending on the types of services and files accessed.
Orange and Baidu have already developed an Arabic and English browser is launching for Mobinil customers today, and both companies are now working to launch French versions of the browser for countries across Orange’s African & Middle East footprint.
Marc Rennard, senior executive vice president for Orange activities across Africa and the Middle East, commented: “The appetite for mobile internet services is very strong in Africa, for example demand for Android devices in Egypt has doubled in the second half of this year. Price and access have been a barrier to entry, but partnering with innovative companies like Baidu provide unique solutions that give our customers affordable access to all the services they desire without compromising on features or ease-of-use. Building on the partnerships we’ve signed with major brands such as Wikipedia and Facebook in AMEA, we continue to innovate in Africa and honour our commitment to make the internet accessible to all customers across our footprint.”
Hu Yong, general manager of Baidu’s International Business Unit, said: “Baidu's success has been built on developing technologies, products and services appropriate for China, the world's largest emerging market. We’re now bringing that experience to bear in other markets now enjoying rapid growth. Working with Orange in the Middle East and Africa, Baidu hopes to contribute meaningfully to the region’s growth by making the mobile internet easier than ever to use.”