CEO of Orange, Stéphane Richard, had called a press conference Monday morning in Paris, to discuss “strong and dramatic announcements around 4G”. “This is a historic day”, immediately announced the man on the stage of the amphitheater of Orange premises, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. “We turned this morning full 4G antennas Paris: the city is fully covered by 4G,” it is bliss. Beyond Paris is the Ile-de-France as a whole is concerned, with 37 neighboring cities also have 4G now, including Aubervilliers, Pantin, Bagnolet, Vincennes, Saint-Mande, Gentilly, Montrouge, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Boulogne-Billancourt, Clichy and Saint-Ouen. At the national level, more than 70 cities will be covered end of September, “more than 500 cities,” further elaborates the Boss Orange. Among the elected, there is Besançon, Caen, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cavaillon or Tarbes. For all these areas, 4G is “an element of attractiveness, competitiveness,” according to Stephane Richard, who believes that by the end of 2013 “Orange will be significantly ahead” of its objectives population coverage with “at least 40%.” “This marks a very natural leadership in Orange”, he says, very proud. But customers will they “bite”? “There is a real appetite”, says Stéphane Richard. “We have already seen an explosion of uses,” he said, confident in the enthusiasm of its customers. For the operator, this is an opportunity to “recreate value in this sector” after the trauma (Orange, SFR and Bouygues) of the arrival of Free market and lower “25 % “price subscriptions. Side smartphones, Orange has a full range (Samsung, Nokia, Sony, BlackBerry, etc..). With a mischievous smile, Stéphane Richard said he was “resolutely optimistic” for the next iPhone to be unveiled Tuesday by Apple (an event to go live on the Point.fr). While the iPhone 5 is not compatible with European 4G, iPhone 5S (or iPhone 6, you never know …) should be. Another area on which Stéphane Richard is confident: continued investment. “There was no arbitration under economic pressure”, that is to say, including the arrival of Free and Orange “has doubled its investments this year compared to last year,” says- he says. Recent tax woes of Orange, who must repay billions of euros of unpaid bills, will they impact the Orange investment in 4G as in fiber optics? And if this is not the case, where will the money paid in taxes? Our issue seems to embarrass the CEO of Orange, kicking into touch. “We are continuing our investment plans,” is he happy to answer Over against SFR and Free, Bouygues is against Stéphane Richard has blasted Monday morning. Constable Telecom (ARCEP) has indeed allowed the competitor to reuse its 2G 4G frequencies, after the closing of the tender which has generated enormous costs for all operators. “Bouygues will perhaps be able to announce soon a slight advantage in terms of population coverage, but it will not last,” asserts Stéphane Richard, for which the authorization given by the ARCEP is “not fair”.
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Second reason: the quality of the fixed network which connects the movable points to each other. “We are the only ones to have 100% fiber optic” advance Stéphane Richard. Finally, the last advantage of Orange’s content. With all of the Ligue 1 exclusively on mobile, Orange can actually enjoy a competitive advantage. Content development, particularly through its chain OCS (Orange Cinema Series), should also play.
