ORANGE ANNOUNCES BRAND LAUNCH IN POLAND
15 September 2005, London: Orange SA, one of the world's largest mobile communications companies and part of the France Telecom Group, today announces the launch of the Orange brand in Poland.
As of Monday 19 September, PTK (Polish Cellular Telephony) Centertel in Poland will replace its customer-facing brand, Idea, with Orange. Centertel in Poland is the latest operation to adopt the Orange brand in Europe and is Orange's third largest operation both in terms of revenues and customer numbers.
Sanjiv Ahuja, Chief Executive Officer, Orange SA, said: "We are delighted to be able to welcome Centertel to Orange. This is a key market at the centre of Europe with a population of nearly 40 million, and it's an exciting time to be here following Poland's entry to the EU last year. Centertel is one of our best performing operations and I am confident that we can help them build on their success to date, while also providing an opportunity to launch something new and exciting."
Jean Marc-Vignolles, Chief Executive Officer, PTK Centertel, said: "We are now part of a truly international group with all the backing that brings. In addition to benefiting from group-wide synergies, we are committed to delivering standards of excellence in customer service and reach new heights in innovation in Poland. Everyone has worked extremely hard to get to this moment and our employees and customers feel very proud today."
Orange now has operations in 17 countries, having rebranded existing operations in France, Slovakia, Romania, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Botswana, The Netherlands, Madagascar in the last four years.
Orange customers in Poland can look forward to improvements in all areas of the customer experience including:
Signature Devices: a range of Signature devices – unique to Orange will be launched to meet varying customer needs, including: Philips 362, Sagem MYX 6-2, Samsung Z300, Sony Ericsson K600, Sony Ericsson PC Card GC 89.
Roaming: new roaming deals for customers promise to improve the roaming experience for customers and provide greater transparency and cost control through its use of four geographical charge zones and 'network independent' approach to pricing. Polish customers can expect price discounts when travelling to certain countries of up to 20 per cent.
New tariff plans: with greater segmentation to achieve greater simplicity and transparency for customers. Examples include Your Plan (allowing customers to create their own tariff plan according to their needs); and Your Mix (a mixture of pre-pay and post-pay elements providing customers with greater control, without usage limitations).
Customer service: excellence in customer service has long been a hallmark of Orange - in Poland emphasis has been placed on providing a consistently high standard of service across the country; providing friendly and straightforward advice based on the needs of the customer – both at sale and after. In total, 1,200 retail shops in Poland have been rebranded as part of the launch.
Notes to Editors
Orange and wirefree and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange PCS. Orange is one of the world's largest mobile communications companies and a subsidiary of the France Telecom Group, with operations in 17 countries across Europe and beyond. It provides a broad range of personal communications services, including Orange GSM1800 services and other digital cellular telephone services. Within the Orange Group, the Orange brand operates in the UK, France, Switzerland, Romania, Slovakia, Thailand, the Ivory Coast, the Dominican Republic, Cameroon, the Netherlands, Botswana, and Madagascar. The Orange group also has controlled operations in Belgium (Mobistar). The Orange group has a joint controlling interest in Egypt (MobiNil) and minority interests in Portugal (Optimus) and in Austria (One). As at the end of June 2005, Orange had 14.46 million active customers in the UK, and over 21.4 million registered customers in France. As at the end of June 2005, Orange controlled companies had over 56.1 million customers worldwide. Orange, along with TIM, Telefonica and T-Mobile, is a founding member of the FreeMove alliance. Further information about Orange can be found on the Orange website at www.orange.com.
About PTK Centertel
Company launched: December 1991
Launches as Orange: 19 September 2005
Number of employees: 3,673
Number of customers: 8.6m at the end of June 2005
Market share: 33.3%
Market position: 2nd
Revenues: 1H2005 €741m
About Poland
Three mobile operators
Poland entered the EU on 1 May 2004
Population: 38.5m - Poland is one of Europe's biggest countries
Mobile penetration in the Polish mobile market: 67.5%
