Orange, Nokia in deal for mobile advertising and gaming

Orange and Nokia signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona in order to partner on value added services such as location based services, maps, mobile advertising and gaming. There is a strong intent to follow with a strategic partnership by mid 2008.

By combining Orange‘s marketing, customer and service expertise and Nokia’s strength in device development and integration, the two companies will extend the way customers use and enjoy their mobile handsets. Nokia will continue to support Orange‘s Signature device strategy including common applications.

The partnership will be underpinned by co-marketing and sales activities, building on and increasing the collaboration that already exists between the two.

Orange‘s Signature Series portfolio includes a wide range of Nokia handsets. Within the Signature approach, Orange selects and tests the best applications, defines suitable tariffs, a user friendly interface plus integrated billing and customer support. As a converged operator, Orange‘s strategy is to become a leader in advertising solutions for mobile, Internet and IPTV and a leader in mobile advertising across its footprint.

Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecom operators. France Telecom serves more than 170 mln customers in five continents of which two thirds are Orange customers. The Group had consolidated sales of 52.9 bln euros in 2007. As of December 31, 2007, the Group had 109.6 mln mobile customers and 11.6 mln broadband internet (ADSL) customers.

In 2006, Orange became the Group’s single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates, and Orange Business Services the banner for services offered to businesses worldwide. France Telecom is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband internet services in Europe and one of the world leaders in providing telecom services to multinational companies.