Dubai, October 14, 2009

increases coverage and capacity, integrates Multicast and IPv6 enhancements

Orange Business Services, France Telecom Group’s division for worldwide enterprise services and a leading information and communications technology provider, has enhanced its nextgeneration converged IP network in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) to deliver greater coverage, capacity, performance and resilience to its multinational enterprise customers.

Designed to handle data, voice, video, mobility and versatile access methods, the nextgeneration network from Orange Business Services integrates innovations like Multicast and IPv6 support. In particular, the Orange network is capable of handling in-the-cloud application acceleration and security as well as converged voice and data services.

“We consider the Middle East & Africa to be a key area for economic growth in the coming years, both for ourselves and our customers. Our network upgrade ensures that our customers are supported in their drive to become an anytime, anywhere business. Our new services will help them with cost control and improved responsiveness,” said Lionel Reina, vice president, EEMEA region, Orange Business Services.

The key network investments in the region are:

• improved capacity: Within the Middle East & Africa region, Orange has enhanced capacity to improve resiliency. This includes new submarine cables routes from South Africa to Asia, and from South Africa to Netherlands; enhanced capacity for the existing network, for instance upgrading the link into Morocco to 70 Mbps, UAE to 155 Mbps. Upgrades for Bahrein and Saudi Arabia to 155 Mbps are on-going. Links to Ivory Coast, Ghana and Ethiopia are also being upgraded.

• next-generation architecture: Orange Business Services has also developed a nextgeneration converged IP network for data and voice. This involves the deployment of a new generation of routers supporting converged, real-time services such as Multicast. In addition, IPv6 has been enabled throughout the Orange Business Services network, and Ethernet is now an IP VPN access option in Saudi Arabia, in addition of existing accesses in Morocco and Bahrain.

• extended satellite services: support for application performance and quality of service (QoS), and seamless integration with terrestrial IP VPNs. Satellite solutions from Orange Business Services are centrally managed by skilled satellite personnel, leveraging support from local technicians in 166 countries.

With these network investments, Orange Business Services can offer a wider range of networkbased
services in the region. Recent developments include:

• Network Boost for application prioritization, management and SLA to ensure required quality for critical applications;

• Network Protect which provides embedded security needed by branch offices to deal with new threats and provide 24/7 managed security.

editor’s notes
In the Middle East & Africa, Orange Business Services currently provides extensive coverage with IP VPN access through 138 Points of Presence (PoPs) in 59 countries, through a mixture of fully-integrated terrestrial* and satellite* * network access. In addition, Orange owns networks in 16 countries: Botswana, Cameroon, Central Africa, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal and Uganda.

* Countries with fixed-line access to Orange Business Services’ IP VPN services include: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Senegal, Syria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

** Countries with satellite access to Orange Business Services’ IP VPN services are: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda.

About Orange
Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. With 124.5 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates. At the end of 2008, France Telecom had consolidated sales of 53.5 billion euros (12.7 billion euros for the first quarter of 2009) and at June 30, 2009, the Group had a customer base of 186 million customers in 32 countries. These include 125.5 million mobile customers worldwide and 13.4 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers in Europe. Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number two provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

The Group's strategy, which is characterized by a strong focus on innovation, convergence and effective cost management, aims to establish Orange as an integrated operator and benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. Today the Group remains focused on its core activities as a network operator, while working to develop its position in new growth activities. To meet customer expectations, the Group strives to provide products and services that are simple and user-friendly, while maintaining a sustainable and responsible business model that can be adapted to the requirements of a fast-paced and changing eco-system.

France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information: www.orange.com , www.francetelecom.com, www.orange-business.com

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.