Orange SA
- See also Orange (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word.
Orange_logo.gif
Orange SA is a major mobile phone operator. It owns networks in many parts of the world, including France, the Benelux, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Slovakia (see Orange Slovensko) and Romania (see Orange Romania).
The company was formed by France Télécom in 2001 after acquiring Orange UK and merging its existing mobile operations into the company. The company was initially 85% owned by France Télécom, but in 2003 the remaining 15% was purchased. Orange UK was previously majority owned by Hutchison Whampoa and was the successor to their short-lived mobile telephone system known as Rabbit introduced in the 1980s.
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Operations within the Orange Group
Most operations in Orange SA are also branded Orange, but not all - the most significant exception being Mobistar in Belgium. The most recent conversion to the Orange brand to be announced was PTK Centertel in Poland.
To complicate matters further there are also Orange branded operations in Australia, India (Mumbai only) and Israel, but these sub-licence the brand from Orange SA, with the underlying operator being owned by another company (usually Hutchison Telecom).
Orange also belongs to the FreeMove cell phone alliance. Orange Australia uses CDMA (Qualcomm's cdmaONE, aka IS-95) cell phone technology, while the rest of the Orange companies use GSM.
Image in Britain
In the UK, Orange has come under pressure from customers to improve the Customer Services department. In response, an advertising campaign was run to re-enforce the company's commitment to customer service. Campaigns have also been run to advertise the new 3G service and featured public faces such as Elton John and Stephen Fry.
See also
External links
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