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Orange and Stade Malherbe Caen introduce e-ticketing for stadiums with the M-Stadium mobile contactless project


WEBWIRE

• mobile contactless SIM card with integrated ticket data
• M-Stadium, collaborative project selected by the French government, part of the Caen la Mer region’s dynamic initiative to establish itself as a "leading mobile contactless region"

contactless world first: entry to stadiums with a mobile SIM card
The M-Stadium project led by Orange, through its Orange Labs research and development facility in Caen, is rising to the challenge of deploying mobile contactless technology to cover spectators’ entire "journey" in stadiums, from buying seats and using e-tickets to reading interactive tags in and around stadiums.

On Wednesday September 21, for the French Ligue 1 football match between Caen and Olympique Lyonnais, the M-Stadium trial will be kicking off with 20 volunteers selected from among the club’s season ticket holders to test out this new approach.

The testers will have loaded their tickets beforehand using a mobile application on an NFC or Near Field Communication technology-enabled handset. The integrated data on the SIM card will make it possible to validate their entry into the stadium, with a control terminal to replace the traditional ticket booth, as well as checking the photos of season ticket holders entitled to preferential prices. Testers will also be able to read targets to access match programs. New features will be added during the trial phase, including e-coupons, games and competitions, as well as a selection of exclusive post-match content.

Caen la Mer, leading mobile contactless region
M-Stadium is one of the 12 projects selected by the French government following the 2010 call for projects on "contactless communicating objects", aiming to develop services based on contactless technologies within local authorities. This collaborative project was launched on October 1, 2010, led by Caen Orange Labs in partnership with the stadium consortium made up of Clicmobile (interactive mobile agency), Stade Malherbe Caen and Caen University’s PRINT-CRDP lab. The M-Stadium project is certified by the Basse-Normandie region’s TES competitiveness hub for secure electronic transactions.

Two trials are being carried out in connection with the M-Stadium project:
one at the Stade Malherbe Caen stadium during the Ligue 1 football season. Testers are still being recruited. To join the team, simply send an email to m-stadium14@orange.fr
another at the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis (93), on September 24, for the performance of Robert Hossein’s "Excalibur" show.

M-Stadium is in line with Orange’s strategy to enable the emergence of secure, interoperable and open mobile contactless solutions, working closely with industrial operators and service providers. Alongside this, Orange has made a commitment in 2011 to deploy a mobile contactless service in France, and also plans to roll out a new generation of NFC technology-enabled SIM cards and mobile handsets on a wide scale across Europe.

More generally, M-Stadium ties in with the development policy of Caen la Mer, chosen by the French government in June this year as a leading mobile contactless region. In Caen, NFC is being used in a growing number of ways, with the William the Conqueror visitor trail, "Véol" bicycle sharing stations, bus shelters and tram stops equipped with tags for distributing information. By the end of the year, this technology will also be used for making payments in stores thanks to support from at least two banks.

Lastly, at Orange stores in Caen, customer advisors are offering personalized support for customers who would like to benefit from the M-Stadium initiative.

Discover the M-Stadium project in video on www.orange-innovation.tv/nfc-caen


about Stade Malherbe Caen
The professional football club Stade Malherbe Caen was founded in 1913 and is based in Caen. Jean-François Fortin has been the club’s president since 2002, and the team have been managed by Franck Dumas since May 2005. After winning the French Ligue 2 championship for the second time in its history in 2010, the Caen first team have been playing in Ligue 1, France’s first division, since the start of the 2010-11 season.

About Orange
France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with 170,000 employees worldwide, including 102,000 employees in France, and sales of 22.6 billion euros in the first semester 2011. Present in 35 countries, the Group had a customer base of 217.3 million customers at 30 June 2011, including 143 million customers under the Orange brand, the Group’s single brand for internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. At 30 June 2011, the Group had 158.3 million mobile customers and 14 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group’s ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development
France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information (on the internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.



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