France Telecom launches global Orange Labs network

Paris, January 18, 2007 - France Telecom announces the launch of its Orange Labs network, which groups all of its entities dedicated to innovation around the world. This announcement solidifies France Telecom’s ambition as a benchmark telecommunications operator that delivers innovative, user-focused services to its customers in 220 countries and territories around the world.
The Orange Labs network includes the 15 R & D laboratories in 7 countries (France, China, Japan, South Korea, United States, United Kingdom and Poland): each R & D site is integrated into its own geographic ecosystem, enabling it to leverage the technological advances and evolving user habits around the world. The network also integrates the Technocentre based in Chatillon and the Explocentre in Paris, which operate as nerve centers for all new products or services.

“In 2006 we grouped our products and services together under the Orange banner in order to guarantee a unique experience based on convenience and simplicity to our clients,” said Didier Lombard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of France Telecom. “Multi-disciplinary teams are at the heart of the Orange Labs network, which is built on the qualities of simplicity, innovation and uniformity to best leverage our R & D expertise in the new world of telecommunications.”
“The telecommunications industry has evolved into an open, IP-based environment, and the deployment of the Orange Labs network solidifies our ambition to place innovation at the very core of our customer-centric strategy, ” added Didier Lombard. “Already, we’re focused on `R&D 2.0’, the next generation of research and development, which builds on today’s ”Always-On“ technologies to anticipate users’ needs.”

R&D 2.0 brings together the members of the Orange Labs network who develop products and services based on new technologies including rich interfaces, open APIs (application programming interfaces,) and mobile browsing systems.
Orange plans to expand its role within high-growth environments such as social networks and virtual blog communities by giving users the resources to manage their own interactions with the convenience and simplicity that are Orange hallmarks.

The launch of the Orange Labs brand name is being announced in San Francisco, during Didier Lombard’s visit to Orange R&D labs that are highly knowledgeable in web 2.0 innovations. These labs benefit from the regional concentration of high-tech expertise and capital and are widely recognized for their experience in key areas such as web 2.0 dynamics, associated communities, their impact business and residential service offers, and routing and network optimization resources.
Orange is leveraging its R&D expertise to develop and deliver innovative communications services. Orange was the first incumbent operator in the world to offer VoIP (2.1 million customers in Europe,) and was also the first to offer WiFi and Livebox in Europe. Today, the Orange portal is the leading portal in France, both on the mobile (4.5 million individual visitors per month for Orange World) and on the Internet (13.4 million individual visitors per month for orange.fr, making it the leading non-US portal in Europe ).

The integration of R&D into the company’s core functions is a key component of the NExT strategic plan, which is geared to making France Telecom the benchmark integrated telecom operator in Europe.


About France Telecom
France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, serves more than 153 million customers on five continents (220 countries or territories) as of September 30, 2006 and had consolidated sales of 49 billion euros in IFRS in 2005 (38.4 billion euros for the year-to-date at September 30, 2006). Launched in June 2005, the NExT program (New Experience in Telecommunications) will allow the Group to pursue its transformation as an integrated operator and to make France Telecom the benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. On June 2006, Orange thus became the Group’s single brand for Internet, television and mobile in France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain, and Orange Business Services the brand name for the services offered to businesses worldwide. France Telecom is number two mobile operator and provider of Internet services in Europe and amongst the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris Eurolist market and on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Nilou du Castel

France Telecom

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