Orange Readies for Swiss 3G Wireless Launch

Europe : Orange is launching its UMTS services on 5 September 2005. The launch offer includes two data cards, four UMTS mobile phones, video telephony, Live TV, downloads of games, ringtones, music and video clips. Until the end of the year Orange will concentrate on UMTS coverage in 25 towns and tourist areas.

Inset is the Orange Z500 3G handset.

Afterwards the coverage will be extended to rural areas as well. Orange wants to become the leading UMTS operator in Switzerland by the end of 2006.

“By the end of 2006 Orange is the leading UMTS operator in Switzerland with the highest UMTS usage per user and the highest average revenue per user” says Orange CEO Andreas S. Wetter. He says that this target will be achieved focusing the quality strategy, which Orange follows also for UMTS.

Orange only considers areas to be covered if customers there can use the full range of UMTS services. Therefore, Orange is focusing on network coverage with a particularly high coverage density, so that UMTS reception is also excellent inside buildings. Wetter thinks that the success of UMTS services lies in mobile communications developing from “information sharing” to the “Share your moments - share your life” principle. With the opportunity that video telephony offers, not just to recount what is happening but also to show it, mobile communication becomes much more emotional.

UMTS makes the mobile communication more practical through its fast data transfer. Working mobile and downloads are a lot more comfortable.

Timm Degenhardt, head of marketing at Orange, describes the offer strategy as “the strategy of an aggressive market follower”. He pointedly summarises the highlights of the offer: “Prices for Video Telephony are the same as for voice and therefore we are able to offer our UMTS clients the same advantages of our Price plans. Our live TV-Offer isn’t more expensive than others but contains 3 times the variety of others. With our Mobile Office Card offer you can confidently do without an ADSL connection as you can get mobile broadband for a comparable price”.

The UMTS offer from Orange
To enable a fast way of work on the move with a laptop, fast connection and high transfer rates (up to 128 Kbit/s Upload, up to 384 Download), Orange offers two Mobile Office Cards. The Novatel U530 data card for laptops with integrated WLAN receiver offers UMTS and GPRS connections. With the second Mobile Office Card (Option Fusion) it is possible to connect via UMTS, GPRS and WLAN. The data cards are available with various subscriptions.

Orange is starting with four UMTS mobile phones (Motorola A1000, Nokia 6680, SonyEricsson K600i, Samsung SGH-Z500). Many more UMTS mobile phones will follow until the end of 2005.

To use the UMTS services from Orange with these phones, you need a new UMTS SIM card from Orange. In addition to flawless UMTS use, the new SIM cards also offer other advantages such as storage of 500 contacts with additional data such as email, a second number and second name as well as storage of 50 SMS. Existing Orange customers will receive the UMTS SIM card free of charge. . For new customers the new SIM card is free with the purchase of a new UMTS mobile phone and an Orange price plan.

From 5.9.2005 the following UMTS services will be offered:
•Mobile Office Card The fast mobile data transmission via Laptop can be performed over WLAN, UMTS or GPRS. Abroad, over 10’000 WLAN hotspots are available thanks to our roaming partner WEROAM, the most of them within Europe. The advantageof the Mobile Office Card is, that it offers WLAN access and no additional cost will occur, since the prices are the same as within Switzerland.

•Video telephony Video telephony can be used with all Orange price plans. Until the end of the year national video phone connections will be charged at the same rate as standard calls.

•Data transfer via UMTS mobile phone. Until the end of the year, surfing the Internet or sending and receiving email with a UMTS mobile phone will cost the same as it has up until now via GPRS.

•Orange World 50 video clips, 30 music clips, 10 3D games, 40 animated wallpapers. Weekly updates with new content. All content can be downloaded with the Express or Power Option without additional data costs. The content itself costs between CHF 1.50 and CHF 5.00 per download. By the end of the year the offer will be expanded with music and video streaming.

•Live TV There are 30 TV stations to choose from on Orange World, the mobile Internet portal from Orange. With Express or Power Option the access to the TV stations is charged at three price levels without additional data costs: 1 hour for CHF 1.50, 24 hours for CHF 4.00, 1 month for CHF 16.00

•International roaming International roaming with UMTS is possible in the following countries with the following operators: Germany, T-Mobile Germany / Austria, T-Mobile Austria / Italy, TIM / France, Orange France / Spain, Telefonica / United Kingdom, Orange UK.

Until the end of the year video phone connections will be charged at the same rate as standard calls. Until the end of the year data connections will be charged at the same rate as GPRS connections.