Mobile telephone operator, Orange has announced plans to launch the UK’s first broadband network that will work on both the mobile network and the fixed-line network, depending on where customers are located when they connect.
Customers accessing the internet at home will be connected to the internet via service provider Wanadoo, owned by Orange’s parent company France Telecom (FT). Outside of the home, the connection will be made through Orange’s high speed third generation (3G) mobile network, which launched in the UK at the beginning of December 2004.
The coming year is predicted to enjoy strong growth for 3G phones, with subscribers forecast to nearly double during 2005. Telecommunications intelligence group, the Wireless World Forum has estimated that 3G mobile telephones will increase from 45 million in 2004 to 85 million in 2005 (see Global 3G Subscribers To Double to 85 Million In 2005).
Commenting on the new technology, Sanjiv Ahuja, Orange Group chief executive officer said: “This is the year when mobile broadband will come of age, when we expect to see significant numbers of our customers begin to explore next generation services, enabled by mobile broadband.”
Bernard Ghillebaert, executive vice president of Orange UK added: “This year we expect to see uptake of mobile broadband rise steeply. Ofcom recently reported an 800% rise in online usage among broadband customers, compared to usage on standard dial-up and that there was a marked increase in video content access. We anticipate that similar patterns will emerge in the mobile broadband space and early analysis of usage patterns from 3G customers supports this, with almost 20% of all downloads on Orange World now being video clips.”
Last week, FT revealed that Wanadoo had seen its European broadband subscriptions rise to 4.37 million, making up 46% of its European customer base at the end of 2004 (see France Telecom Sees Dramatic Broadband Growth).
Rival company, Vodafone revealed in an upbeat trading statement released at the beginning of the year, that it expects 10 million people to have signed up to its Vodafone Live! service before March 2006 (see Vodafone Predict 3G Penetration Of 10 Million By 2006).
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