3G Sponsored by NetTest

 

 

Orange France Launches Intense 3G

6th December, 2004

Europe : Orange today announces the launch of Orange Intense, the first commercial 3G service, available in France as of December 9.

Inset is the the Sony Ericsson Z1010.

Orange Intense delivers a mobile broadband experience to customers with more video, more music and more live content at any time. Among the exciting new services made possible by 3G, video telephony is emblematic of a new generation of converged services that are interoperable on all France Telecom networks: mobile with Orange Intense, fixed with MaLigne visio and Internet with Wanadoo visio.

At the same time, Orange is launching its 3G consumer service in the United Kingdom.

Intense offer:
- Video calls at the same rates as voice calls
- First-ever 24/7 unlimited call offer

Orange Intense customers will benefit from the best-in-class 3G services while efficiently managing their phone budget. Customers who sign up for the service before January 19, 2005 will be able to make video calls and thus see people while they talk – at the same rates as voice calls.

Orange is also innovating with a first in the mobile phone industry, an exclusive offer for the Orange Intense customers: unlimited free voice calls to other Orange customers and fixed phone numbers in France. This offer applies for all calls over three minutes, 24 hours a day.

There is also a “Christmas Special” offer available for 99 euros a month, including VAT. Customers who sign up before January 19, 2005 can make unlimited calls to Orange numbers and to fixed numbers, 24 hours a day. They also receive the Orange World Intense maximum option for a year, letting them watch 95 videos on the Orange World portal, or send 145 photo or video MMS messages or send 580 SMS messages per month. This special offer is limited to the first 10,000 customers who sign up for the service.

A vast and rich array of content

Thanks to the Orange World and Orange World Video portals, plus exclusive partnerships, Orange Intense customers enjoy the wealth of possibilities created by 3G technologies, including video, TV and music, all available directly on mobile handsets.

Customers can access a rich array of exclusive content on Orange World Video’s nine thematic channels (45 different sections), as well as 11 Live TV channels (Star Academy, France 2, France 3, France 5, i-tele, M6 Music, Trace TV, Infosport, RTL9, Cine Cinema Info and Fashion TV). They will also enjoy exclusive access to round-the-clock news with news channel LCI, plus live broadcasts of Premier League soccer and Top 16 Rugby matches.

For two weeks in December, the first Orange Intense users will also have exclusive access to cuts from the latest Alicia Keys album, as well as the trailer from Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.

A choice of four Intense call plans

The Orange Intense offer spans a choice of four flexible and attractive call plans. All four include a multimedia pass entitling users to 25 MMS messages, 100 SMS messages or 15 two-minute videos per month via the Orange World portal.

(all rates include VAT)
3 hours 5 hours 10 hours 20 hours
55 euros/month 75 euros/month 125 euros/month 195 euros/month
The Multimedia Pass with these plans includes 25 MMS messages, 100 SMS messages or 15 2-minutes videos (25 MB of data) per month via the Orange World portal

In addition, customers who sign up for an Orange Intense call plan before January 19 receive a bonus of 20 hours of video calls for two months, as well as access to 80 videos, 140 MMS video or photo messages, and 480 SMS messages a month (for four months). If customers “sponsor” someone living in a coverage zone and signs up for Orange Intense, they receive an additional 40-euro discount for their 3G handset.

All these call plans of course apply per second billing as of the first second. They also include roll-over minutes for both voice and video calls, and free change to a different Orange Intense call plan at any time.

There are six 3G mobile multimedia call plans for businesses. The plans include voice and video calls, SMS, MMS and data messaging, plus integrated connection in UMTS/Wi-Fi/GPRS modes.

3 hours 5 hours 7 hours 10 hours 15 hours 20 hours
38 euros/month 50 euros/month 62 euros/month 80 euros/month 110 euros/month 140 euros/month

Orange offers the broadest 3G coverage in France

Following an initial trial program in several French cities and tests involving 5,000 users, Orange has deployed an extensive 3G network, covering:

- 61 of the country’s 119 cities of over 50,000 inhabitants;
- 64 percent of the cities of over 100,000 inhabitants;
- 100 percent of the cities of over 200,000 inhabitants.

Orange will also combine UMTS technology with roll-out of EDGE services to provide complementary “medium-bandwidth” coverage starting in spring 2005. This will result in coverage of 85 percent of the population. The first UMTS/EDGE handsets will be marketed with adapted terms and conditions.

High-end devices for the best possible 3G experience

Seven handsets are available for the launch of 3G services, three of them exclusive Orange signature phones. Prices for the phones start at 199 euros. These high-end handsets make it easy for people to immediately enjoy the wealth of Orange 3G services.

Customers will have a choice of the Sanyo S750, the Sony Ericsson Z1010, the Samsung Z107 U or Z105 U, the LG U8150, the Motorola C 975 and the Nokia 6630. All have been specially designed for simple, intuitive access, with one-key access to the Orange World Intense portal. The screens have 65,000 colors minimum and a refresh rate of at least 10 frames per second.

France Telecom is an integrated telecommunications operator with a vision that creates convergence across fixed, mobile and Internet networks. Thanks to this vision, Orange Intense customers can today participate in video calls with anyone who has France Telecom MaLigne visio or Wanadoo visio services.

Home ProZone Subscribe To Newsletter 3G Forum