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  September 2005
 

hello ...

Welcome to the Orange Partner newsletter.

It's been a busy summer and this month's edition is packed with lots of exciting news about Orange Code Camp, Opio – including information about what's new this time, our sponsors so far, the full list of activities and more.

Developers - you can find out about the latest tool from Orange Partner to help you obtain cost effective industry standard testing, and read through the new technical information on the website.

Business Development members - learn about the market segments for growth in the mobile sector in the France Telecom Group ½ year results, plus learn more about an exciting new group acquisition in Spain. Our footprint is expanding, and so can yours.

An important reminder – next months Orange Code Camp is right around the corner and we already have many registrations. This year we have expanded to allow more folks, but to ensure you're not disappointed, please register today.

 
In this issue …
   
Developer News:
Orange Partner premium members – send us your ideas or finished business solutions
France Telecom Group ½ year results – an analysis of Orange and the other markets across the France Telecom Group footprint
France Telecom Group has acquired 80% of mobile operator Amena – creating a 1st tier operator in Spain
iMG Awards – Find out how Orange Partner is supporting the awards
 
Technology Update:
Industry Testing – a new addition to the suite of testing tools available to Orange Partner premium members
New on the Orange Partner website - the full list of APNs for the countries in which Orange operates

Frequently asked questions – get the answers to your burning questions!

   
Meeting Orange Partner:
Orange Code Camp, Opio - new information on what's happening
CTIA Wireless I.T & Entertainment 2005, 27-29 September 2005 - San Francisco
Symbian Smartphone Show 2005, 11th – 12th October 2005 – Excel Centre, London
   
Top links from the website:
Find out the top areas of interest to newsletter subscribers
 

Steve Glagow
Orange Partner - Director

 

Orange Partner premium members – send us your ideas or finished business solutions
Plus, meet with key representatives from Orange Business Solutions at Orange Code Camp, Opio.

Orange Partner premium members – if you have an idea or finished business solution for the SME market, then we want to meet with you Orange Code Camp, Opio.

If you're interested in meeting up with us – then please send an email to developers@orange.com with 'obs_solution' in the subject line, giving details of your proposed solution for SMEs by answering the following questions:

• name and 20 word description of the solution
• status (i.e. available now or in development)
• target market (company size and user types)
• features and benefits in bullet point form
• technical details and considerations
• languages supported (e.g. English, French etc)
• devices supported
• operating system(s)

If invited to speak with us at Code Camp, we'd need you to be able to demonstrate your draft or final solution to us on the day.

This opportunity is open to premium members only, and is subject to an invitation by Orange Partner.

If you have an idea of finished business solution that you would like us to consider, and will not be attending Code Camp, then please submit via the usual method, on www.orangepartner.com>

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France Telecom Group ½ year results – an analysis of Orange and the other markets across the France Telecom Group footprint
The France Telecom Group results so far support the ambition to make France Telecom Group the telecommunications operator of reference in Europe.

At Orange Code Camp – Opio, we will be telling you more about the integrated operator strategy that lies at the heart of France Telecom Group results so far and about the France Telecom and Orange plans for future growth over the next few years.

Orange now has over 300,000 mobile broadband customers and remains on track to meet our year end targets. Plus France Telecom Group has announced the extension of the Orange brand, which is to be rolled out to many of the Group's mobile and broadband operations, providing you, our Orange Partner members with even more potential distribution channels for your mobile applications and solutions.

Orange France remains the market leader with both continued subscriber base and revenue growth, and a customer base increase to 21.4m subscribers. The proportion of network revenue from data services has risen to 13.9% compared to 13.6% pro forma. In the UK our customer base is up 5.2% to 14.46m, and the proportion of network revenues derived from data services climbed to 19.1%, from 17%, and Orange launched the UK's first mobile TV station featuring nine channels including ITN News, CNN and the Cartoon Network.

The UK is on target for 1.5m to 2m 3G customers by end 2006 and Orange has the broadest integrated 2G/3G network in the UK covering 70% of the population, plus Orange continues to target corporate customers with differentiated offers such as a new generation 3G data card and business focused Signature handsets.

Take a look at the detailed analysis of each of the countries across the Orange footprint - read the full press release>

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France Telecom Group has acquired 80% of mobile operator Amena – creating a 1st tier operator in Spain
In July France Telecom Group, which owns Orange, announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Amena, a Spanish mobile operator.

France Telecom Group will proceed to merge Auna, Retevision Movil S.A. and France Telecom Group España (which holds the fixed and internet business of the group in Spain under the Wanadoo brand).

The merger reinforces France Telecom Group's leading role in one of the most attractive telecommunications markets in Europe and creates a platform to offer convergent services under one brand to both consumer and enterprise customers.

With 9.7 million customers and a 24% market share at the end of June of 2005, five years after its debut Amena is one of the best number 3 cellular operator in its local European market.

Spain is the number 5 market in Europe with an estimated growth potential for mobiles of approximately +6% per year between 2005 and 2008, better than the European average.

Already active in Spain for more than 7 years via several subsidiaries, France Telecom Group is well known in the Internet market under the trade name Wanadoo. With 1.4 million Internet clients, including more than 500,000 ADSL lines, France Telecom Group España accounts for more than16% of the ADSL market and covers 50% of the local unbundled loop.

Through this acquisition, France Telecom Group positions itself as the most important challenger to the incumbent Spanish operator.

Find out more – read the full press release>

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iMG Awards – Find out how Orange Partner is supporting the awards
The iMG Awards are aimed at mobile game developers who wish to submit a proposal for the production of a game or a pilot and be recognized, at the same time, as some of the world's most talented mobile game developers.

Developers from all backgrounds – professionals, university students, or working from back bedrooms, can enter the iMG Awards for the opportunity of commercializing games and winning some fantastic prizes!

Orange Partner is associated with the iMG awards this year, and if you're thinking of participating, you can boost your chances of winning by attending Orange Code Camp, Opio - 17-19 October 2005, where you will benefit from additional development support to help your case.

The objective of the iMG Awards is to help, motivate and award talented mobile game developers across the globe

With the iMG Awards you can not only get your Game published, but you can also win cash, software licences, smartphones and more.

Find out more about the iMG Awards>

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Industry Testing – a new addition to the suite of testing tools available to Orange Partner premium members
Industry testing is designed to help you prepare your application for submission to the Orange Partner programme.

Obtaining industry standard testing is a key requirement of the Orange Partner programme in getting your product ready for submission to us. However, we've listened to your feedback, and we recognize that you'd like a more direct way of getting your application or mobile solution tested against the industry tests, plus if you could also save cost, then that would be of interest too …

To help make the process potentially easier and cheaper for Orange Partner members, we've teamed up with NSTL (National Software Testing House) to provide you with a one-stop tool to test your applications and solutions. The site allows you to submit your applications for Java Verified, Mobile2Market, Palm Powered Mobile World or Symbian Signed certification.

Additionally NSTL testing allows you to test against an Orange handset, which contributes towards part of your Orange Compatibility Testing, helping to speed up the process of getting your product into the Orange internal product catalogue.

For the past three decades NSTL has been the world's leading information technology testing and quality assurance organization. Established in 1983, NSTL is the leading independent manager of certification programs for industry standards with a special focus on mobile technologies and the digital home.

To take full advantage of the tool you must be a premium member of the Orange Partner programme.

To find out more – click here>

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New on the Orange Partner website - the full list of APNs for the countries in which Orange operates
Orange Partner premium members - you can now access the full list of APNs for the Orange countries.

Access Point Names (APNs) are used to indicate to the GPRS network the resources you wish to access. They control how IP traffic is routed and the IP address scheme and can be compared to a telephone number in circuit switched environment.

To use a handset to connect to the network in each country, the country-specific APNs are required and can only be accessed by that country's SIM card.

For those of you who've been requesting a full list of Orange APNs to assist you in developing solutions and applications for multiple markets across the Orange footprint - we've now published a full list of our existing APNs on a per country basis on the Orange Partner website.

Premium members - view the full list of APNs now>

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Frequently asked questions – get the answers to your burning questions!
In June and July we ran a series of highly popular, and over-subscribed Virtual Seminars on hot topics about which Orange Partner members had been requesting information.

The subjects included testing, networks, the Orange internal product catalogue and lots more…Due to the high volume of interest we realise that some of you were unable to participate, so the presentations are published on the website and are available to Orange Partner members to download.

Via the Virtual Seminars and the Orange Partner website we've collated a range of FAQs on a variety of technical subjects such as Orange Smartphones, Orange compatibility testing, Java testing, the GSM network as well as more general subjects such as Orange Partner account management, the internal product catalogue and more.

The full list of FAQs and their answers - are now published on the website >

Also, we will soon be announcing the next series of virtual seminars, so if there are any topics that you would like to find out more about - email us at developers@orange.com with "virtual_seminar_idea" in the subject line.

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Orange Code Camp, Opio – new information on what's happening!
Hot of the press… confirmed sponsors so far are Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Symbian and UIQ (gold), Gemplus, Microsoft, Palm, Sybase and Texas Instruments (silver) ....

Take a look at the 'what's happening' section of the website for the latest on the exciting activities in store.

For example, you said you wanted more direct access to key Orange personnel at Code Camp this time, so representatives from our sponsors, Orange and France Telecom Group will be available throughout the event, carrying out demos and offering one-to-one advice on your commercial and technical issues.

Plus, if you're a premium member with an idea for the next 'hot' business solution aimed at SMEs, you will have the opportunity to meet direct with representatives from Orange business solutions to discuss your product in detail. All you have to do is send us details of your product – and we'll invite you to attend a 'show us your product' session. Find out more>

At the event we will be making some exclusive announcements regarding the France Telecom Group and Orange strategy, the new distribution channels available to you and we'll reveal details about what we need from you – the Orange requirements.

On the fun-side the Welcome Fair will be an opportunity for you to meet the Orange team, the sponsors, and network with other delegates at the end of the first day, all in a relaxed and informal environment.

Plus, you will be able to test your strength, skill and stamina on the array of traditional fairground games, accompanied by some traditional fairground treats – candy floss and toffee apples!

The Fun Fest on the second evening will be one of the highlights of the event – and not to be missed! Kick-back and relax after a hard days work. Entertainment will be provided by a top rock band, competitions running throughout the night, give-aways, Segway riding, games, awards ceremonies and much much more…all in an informal party style atmosphere.

Let's not forget – for the first time ever at Code Camp, there will be the latest state of the art cinema screening the latest films.

Also very soon we'll be sharing the full details of the sessions in the programme so keep checking the website and look out for your Code Camp update email bulletin early next week.!

The response so far has been phenomenal – and the limited places are selling fast.

Book your place now>

(The fee for two nights' accommodation (17th & 18th October), food and drink, attendance at all the sessions, workshops and presentations and full use of the facilities is only 450€ (excluding tax) - the fun comes for free!)

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CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2005, 27-29 September 2005 - San Francisco
Come and visit the Orange Partner team in the 'Developer's Pavilion', booth #921 at CTIA!

Meet Steve Glagow, Orange Partner Director, discuss your products with Steve and the team, and talk to us about the possibilities for commercialization.

We look forward to catching up with our members, and meeting new faces… see what Orange Smartphones you might also be able to win!

In addition, Steve will be speaking in the CTIA Program, in the Mobile Enterprise track. Don't miss him in room 2010, on Wednesday 28th September - 13:00, talking about 'Device Decisions and Management'.

Find out more about what's happening at this year's CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment >

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Symbian Smartphone Show 2005, 11th – 12th October 2005 – Excel Centre, London
Visit us at booth #127A on the show floor for a one-to-one chat with the Orange Partner team.

We look forward to catching up with our members, and meeting new faces at the Symbian Smartphone Show 2005

Visit us on the show floor, and find out what Orange Smartphones you might be able to win!

Don't miss Patrick Roullevois, Vice President of Product Marketing, Orange Group present in the opening keynote on "Driving Growth through Innovative and Content".

Steve Glagow, Orange Partner Director, will talk about "The Orange Partner Programme – Successfully Creating Content with Attractive Reward Models", and participate in the Interactive Panel.

Find out more about the Symbian Smartphone Show >

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Top links from the website:

Are you reading off the same page as your fellow newsletter subscribers? Find out the areas of interest on the Orange Partner website.

Based on click thrus – here's a list of the top 5 links on the website, over the last month.

EDGE – What is it, how does it relate to existing networks, and what is the Orange's strategy?
The categories of mobile applications, content and solutions that Orange is looking for.
The Nokia Series 60 Challenge
Technical FAQs
Orange Code Camp, Opio – what's happening

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We want to hear your thoughts about the Orange Partner Newsletter. Drop us a line at developers@orange.com