Orange forms world’s first mobile and internet partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation

Paris and San Francisco

* This partnership, the first of its kind, will expand the reach of Wikimedia content through co-branded channels on Orange’s mobile and web portals
* The two partners will work together to develop new services and features around content from Wikipedia, the flagship project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation today announced a wide-ranging strategic partnership designed to mutually benefit each organization’s users by extending the way people can access free knowledge.

Orange, the European telco leader in internet audience ranking, with 55 million unique visitors per month[1], will initially provide customers in France, the UK, Spain and Poland with quick and simple access to co-branded content from the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia. Partnership activities include:
- creatingspecific Wikipedia encycloaedia channels on Orange mobile and web portals.
- enriching sections of the Orange web and mobile portals with links to relevant Wikipedia information.
- developing mobile and web-based widgets which enable customers to access Wikipedia content directly from their Orange mobile or web homepage.

Phase two of the agreement will see the two organisations cooperate to create a range of simple but innovative new services drawing on Orange’s skills as a total communications provider across mobile, internet and television. In addition, the partnership will be rolled out across the rest of Orange’s European footprint.

Commenting on the agreement, Paul-François Fournier, Executive Vice President of Orange Audience Line of Business, said: “At Orange we are committed to giving people maximum access to the widest range of digital technologies and to simplifying the way people use these technologies to access information. By bringing our customers a new way to access content from Wikipedia, one of the world’s most recognised and popular internet brands, we are delivering on this commitment.”

“The Wikimedia Foundation is committed to spreading knowledge to as many people as possible, in as many ways as possible,” said Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “Orange’s leadership in mobile and focus on innovation makes them an ideal partner to help us extend our reach. The Foundation welcomes partnerships that help us carry out our mission and respect the valuable work of our community.”

This partnership is part of Orange’s strategy to provide the most popular and compelling content to its customers and will increase the reach of Wikimedia services, particularly in the European mobile market and at a time when mobile internet usage is soaring. Through this partnership Orange is also supporting the Wikimedia Foundation’s core mission of enhancing and expanding the reach of Wikipedia and other collaborative knowledge projects to new users.

[1] ComScore, February 2009.