ARCEP reports today on the verification procedure for the UMTS roll-out obligations of the operators Orange France and SFR, which has been underway since December 2005.

Under a decree dated 18 July 2001, Orange France and SFR were authorised to establish and operate a public third-generation radiocommunication network and to provide public telephone service.

Because of the significant gap between the technical and economic reality and the forecasts made when the UMTS frequencies were allocated, ARCEP revised Orange France and SFR’s coverage and commercial launch obligations in March 2004: both operators had committed to launching their UMTS services by the end of 2004 and to cover 58% of the population by 31 December 2005.

UMTS has taken off in France since its launch in late 2004

SFR and Orange France launched their third-generation mobile networks commercially in late 2004. With over two million 3G customers, France is in step with the 3G development movement in Europe, where the UMTS Forum estimates there are over 38 million UMTS customers. This period has also seen a great increase in the use of multimedia services, and mobile video and television services in particular.

SFR and Orange France have respected their roll-out deadline of end 2005

Thanks to the significant efforts made by SFR and Orange France to roll out UMTS, they were able to respect their commitments made in 2004 and to develop 3G mobile telephony in France. Indeed, in early 2006, SFR reached coverage of 60% of the population and Orange France 58% of the population. This coverage allows the operators to offer all the services made possible by UMTS, up to 384 kbps for downlink and 64 kbps for uplink: telephony, videophony, SMS, MMS, television, file transfer, etc.

New commitments for 70% coverage

Now that this initial roll-out phase is complete, 3G coverage will continue to spread in coming years. Indeed, both operators have committed to covering 70% of the population. It will be by the end of 2007 for SFR, and by the end of 2008 for Orange France.

ARCEP will also check Bouygues Telecom’s roll-out obligations: in 2005, it committed to opening its 3G service in April 2007 with coverage of 20% of the population.

Continuing 3G roll-out: a major issue for regional development

The roll-out of 3G must go even further. Access for all residents to 3rd generation mobile services is a critical factor for regional development. The higher speeds offered by the new generation of mobile telephony are the foundation for the development of innovative services and multimedia services. ARCEP considers that the medium-term coverage goal of offering 3G services to as many users as possible must be attained.

The technology has made significant gains since UMTS licences were issued in France. One of the most remarkable advances concerns the increase in speeds, thanks to the HSDPA technology (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), which makes downloading speeds of 1.8 or even 3.6 Mbps possible for each user. In addition, HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) will increase speeds available for uploading.

The need for low frequency bands

Because of their better propagation and penetration inside buildings, low frequency bands will have to be used to expand 3G coverage. This could be made possible in at least two ways:

- reusing the GSM 900 MHz bands

- identifying low frequencies made available through the planned disappearance of analogue television (the “digital dividend”)

Orange France and SFR’s GSM authorisations include the possible reuse of the 900 MHz bands for UMTS. Both operators have shared with ARCEP their desire to take advantage of this possibility.

In conformity with their authorisations, ARCEP will launch a public consultation on this subject in the Fall. The consultation will aim to determine whether the distribution of the 900 and 1800 MHz bands will have to be redefined in order to guarantee the frequencies are distributed equitably among all 2G and 3G mobile network operators. Thus, the market will be surveyed once more on its interest in the fourth UMTS licence which is still available. ARCEP will then take necessary decisions on the future allocation of corresponding frequencies based on the interest expressed.

Moreover, the freeing of a coherent and harmonised digital dividend at the European level is critical for the development of very high speed wireless systems. In this respect, ARCEP is pleased that on 4 May 2006 the President of the Republic created a Strategic Committee for Digital Issues (ComitГ© StratГ©gique pour le NumГ©rique).

Orange Mail Enterprise Service is today announced as part of the Orange Business Services portfolio. Orange Mail Enterprise is a groundbreaking solution that is significantly more affordable than existing ‘push-email’ services and available on a wide range of Signature devices.

Orange Mail Enterprise Service is designed for companies that have their own email server. A fully featured ‘push-email’ service, it combines real-time email delivery with the ability to view attachments, synchronise calendar and contacts and manage your inbox remotely.

With Orange Mail, Orange’s strategy is to ‘democratise’ mobile email, driving widespread adoption and making mobile email as popular and accessible as SMS.

“Today, only around 10% of SMEs use mobile email and it’s often seen as an expensive business tool reserved for senior executives in the company. Our research indicates that this limited uptake is due to barriers such as cost, complexity and the need for specific devices,” says Philippe Bernard, EVP, Orange Business Solutions. “With Orange Mail, we will break down these barriers for SMEs whilst also providing an affordable alternative for large corporations. Within three years, we believe, it will be unusual to encounter a business user who doesn’t have some form of mobile email.”

Orange Mail Enterprise Service will launch in phases across the Orange footprint. Beginning with smartphones and PDAs, the current device range includes eight Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Orange SPV Signature Devices (with many legacy devices also compliant). This will expand to embrace lower cost handsets as rollout accelerates. In addition Orange will increase its business device portfolio to include Chinese partner AMOI.

“Our aim is to open up mobile email to a much wider base of business users across all size of company, transforming how many customers add email to their existing voice service with Orange,” says Philippe Bernard. “With Orange Mail we are addressing all the barriers to entry and making the solution simple to understand and purchase. We will transform perceptions of mobile email from a ‘premium’ service for senior executives to an affordable option for all employees,” he adds.

The key elements that set Orange Mail apart: -

Device range
A broad and growing range of both voice and data centric devices. The eight Signature devices which will support Orange Mail at launch are:

Orange SPV: C600, M3000, M3100 and C700
Sony Ericsson: M600i and P990i
Nokia: E61 and E50

Device launch timings and availability will vary by country.

Signature Devices feature a specially customised Orange Homescreen with a specific icons giving business users one click access to key business applications. By adding the Orange Mail icon to the homescreen Orange ensures quick and easy access to email.

Cost
Over 24 months, Orange Mail TCO is expected to be around 40% less than that of established mobile email solutions on the market today. The cost comprises an affordable flat rate monthly fee, limited or no upfront installation cost and low cost or fully subsidised device.

Implementation
Orange Mail provides a full service package with support for initial self installation, a hotline for end users and on site support for dedicated offers. CD installation ensures straightforward set up without the need for technical skills.

Security
Orange Mail includes comprehensive device management allowing devices to be locked or wiped if mislaid and features end-to-end AES encryption.

“Orange’s new mobile email strategy will not only offer increased choice to customers, but also help to drive awareness of mobile email across the wider market,” comments Nick McQuire, senior analyst, Yankee Group. “Whilst existing players like RIM (BlackBerry) and Microsoft are active in the enterprise market, Orange is also pursuing those companies who are not necessarily convinced yet of the benefits offered by mobile email. The affordable pricing, customer support and range of devices Orange is offering will be key advantages for this audience.”

Roll-out across Orange’s European footprint begins this month in Romania with France following in October. Later in the year Orange Mail will be rolled out in Slovakia, Poland and Belgium, with Spain and UK launching in early 2007.

Orange Mail will supplement Orange’s existing BlackBerry and Microsoft push email options to provide the broadest choice of mobile email solutions available from any operator, covering all market segments and user requirements.

UK cellco O2 today lost its national roaming contract with Hutchison’s 3G player, 3.

After what appears to be a closely fought auction process, Orange emerged as the winner, tendering the most competitive bid for the supply of voice, text and data services.

Orange will take its place as the preferred national roaming provider for 3 from the end of 2006, replacing O2, which held the position since 3 won its license in 2000.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but speculation suggests that the contract could be worth up to ВЈ100m a year for Orange.

But an O2 spokesman played down the potential revenue loss. “Since that figure was bandied about in 2000, 3 has built up its network. You also have to bear in mind that a majority of its customers live and work in city areas [with 3G coverage], so the actual figure is some way far south of that estimate.”

The spokesman added that it was too early to say whether the absence of roaming revenues from 3 UK would have any significant impact on future O2 revenue reports.

“We’re keen to win business, but not at any cost. The price at the end of the day did not make commercial sense to us,” he said.

At present, the 3 network provides coverage for voice, text and data services to 88 per cent of the UK population – the new agreement with Orange helps 3 to deliver 99 per cent coverage for voice and text services.

Following the transition phase existing 3 customers’ handsets will select the Orange network in preference to O2 around year-end, although they will still be able to roam onto O2. Going forward into 2007 all new customers will only roam onto the Orange network.

Bob Fuller, chief executive at 3 UK said: “It was important we had a competitive tender and I am delighted with the outcome of the process.”