Orange And BSkyB In Battle Over AOL UK

Orange may win the auction to buy AOL UK, the internet business owned by Time Warner, the US Media conglomerate, according to reports in the Sunday Telegraph.

The paper says that the bid from the France Telecom owned company is motivated by fear of its rival, BSkyB, getting hold of it.

Carphone Warehouse’s offer of free broadband for those on its Talk Talk fixed line service have seen waiting times for Talk Talk call centres reach 45 minutes. Reports have also suggested that new customers trying to get the free internet service may have to wait up to two months for the connection to go live.

To avoid a similar situation happening with its Wanadoo internet service, now re-branded Orange (see Wanadoo Makes Way For Orange), France Telecom may be keen to acquire extra capacity through the AOL acquisition.

Orange and BSkyB have submitted the highest first-round bids for AOL UK, which could fetch £650 million. It is the third largest internet service provider in the UK after BT and the enlarged NTL-Telewest.

ORANGE: 07973 100 150 www.orange.co.uk