Orange Brings Mobile Broadband Internet to Villages

Bratislava, 1 June 2009 – Orange is the first telecommunication operator to bring an innovative service of mobile broadband internet connectivity intended particularly for villages. The process of connecting the countryside, which has traditionally been harder to connect to the Internet, will start in Hrochoť in the region of Banská Bystrica. Orange will bring services in 870 MHz high-frequency band under the name of Mobile Internet for Villages to nearly 1500 inhabitants.

The broadband internet service - Mobile Internet for Villages - provides a comfort of services currently delivered by today’s 3G mobile internet.

*the offer is valid until 31.8.2009

In order to use the service, a customer will need P1D USB modem, which can be acquired for a discounted, significantly subsidised price of EUR 29 (SKK 873.65) in the case of a 24-month contract.

Orange is going to launch the commercial operation at Hrochoť in Central Slovakia, in a village with nearly 1500 inhabitants. This village has been chosen by Orange as a model example for Mobile Internet for Villages in Slovakia due to its geographical conditions and unavailability of internet connectivity.

“One of the crucial criteria for selection of a location for our pilot phase was significant absence of broadband. Hrochoť has fulfilled this criterion since its inhabitants have never had an opportunity to use the services of stabile high-speed internet connectivity,” says Ivan Golian, director of IT and Networks at Orange Slovensko. Further extension of commercial operation of Mobile Internet for Villages will primarily depend on interest of villages, their location and number of inhabitants as well as on absence of broadband internet connectivity services. If such a form of internet connectivity is interesting for other villages, they can contact Orange Slovensko. Each village application will be assessed by Orange individually in dependence on geographical conditions, population and share of the village in funding of coverage building.

The supplier of the technology used for providing services in the 870 MHz spectrum is the American-British company IPWireless, a pioneer in developing and delivering next generation chips, software, and network infrastructure wireless solutions that are based on 3GPP. The technology works in the UMTS 3GPP standard TD-CDMA (Time Division - Code Division Multiple Access) adapted for the 870 MHz spectrum.

Licence of the so-called fourth operator of 870 MHz band in the SR, acquired by Orange, came to force in mid-June 2008. The frequency is suitable namely for provision of wireless internet services for scarcely populated areas. “Provision of services at this frequency implies a big potential. In the future, band utilisation can be considered for the fourth-generation network, the so-called LTE network, that means even broader choice of services for customers and a higher user comfort," adds Ivan Golian.

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About the France Telecom Group
Orange is a key brand of the France Telecom Group, a prominent world telecommunication operator, the third biggest mobile operator in Europe. In June 2006, Orange became a uniform brand for offerings of mobile, broadband and multi-play services in France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and in October also in Spain, in accordance with the NExT strategy focused at integration of operators in the France Telecom Group. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is a company listed at Euronext Paris Eurolist and New York Exchange. By the end of April 2009, the France Telecom Group had more than 183.5 million customers in 30 countries of the world. Corporate communication solutions and services have been offered by the Group under the name of Orange Business Services, and with this brand, France Telecom belongs among the world leaders in provision of telecommunication services for multinational companies.
At the end of 2008, total revenues of France Telecom under IFRS standards reached EUR 53.5 milliard. As at 31 March 2009, the total number of subscribers to mobile services reached 122.9 mil., and the number of internet customers 20.6 mil. For more information about Orange and France Telecom Group, see www.orange.com or www.francetelecom.com.   

Orange and other names of products or services mentioned herein are the registered trademarks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.


About Orange Slovensko
Orange Slovensko is the biggest telecommunication operator in Slovakia. As an integrated telecommunication operator, it provides services on the multi-play basis over its mobile and fixed networks. As at 31.3. 2009, it had 2.9 million active customers in the mobile network, which signal covers 99.6% of population and 87.3% of the territory of the SR. As at 31.12.2008, total revenues of Orange Slovensko reached €833 mil. Orange is the leading provider of mobile telecommunication services for the business segment as well. Mobile telecommunication services of Orange Slovensko has been used by 64% of Slovak firms. About 62% firms declare Orange Slovensko their main provider of telecommunication services (source: T/Audit, TNS Aisa, October 2008). In addition to the GPRS mobile data network with nationwide coverage, it operates also the EDGE mobile data network with the best coverage in the SR – 95.3% of population, as well as the third-generation mobile network of UMTS standard with unrivalled coverage of  61.3% of population of the SR that represents more than 3 mil. of inhabitants in 134 cities and more than 218 adjacent villages. The high-speed mobile data network of Orange of HSDPA/HSUPA standard supporting transmission speeds up to 7.2 Mbitps for download and 1.46 Mbitps for upload si available on the entire territory of the SR covered by the UMTS signal. Orange Slovensko is the first telecommunication operator in Slovakia launching the latest fixed network of new generation on the FTTH (Fiber To The Home) basis, which currently covers 273 thousand households in 12 cities. The quality of Orange Slovensko services meets the criteria of ISO 9001:2000 certificate under the international standard of quality. Independent auditors have confirmed that Orange Slovensko has built a system of management that guarantees quality, stabile and consistent provision of services to customers. Orange Slovensko is a holder of the environmental management certificate under ISO 14001:2004 standard. 100% owner of Orange Slovensko is the France Telecom Group through Atlas Services Belgicko. As at 31 March 2009, Orange Slovensko had total 389 roaming partners including satellite networks in 197 countries of the world. Orange Slovensko is the first telecommunication operator in Slovakia, which acquired the NBU Certificate of Industrial Safety through its subsidiary. Orange is the only company in Slovakia, which placed for six times among the first three firms in the Firm of the Year ranking, annually compiled by the weekly Trend. For more information about Orange Slovensko, see www.orange.sk


More information:
Peter Tóth
Corporate Affairs Manager
tel. +421 (2) 5851-4818, +421 (905) 014 818
fax: +421 (2) 5851 4053
e-mail: peter.toth@orange.sk

Richard Fides
Media Relations Specialist
tel. +421 (2) 5851 4878, +421 (905) 014 878
fax: +421 (2) 5851 4053
e-mail: richard.fides@orange.sk