All France articles
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Network & Infra
Orange France wins Europe’s race to ten million fibre customers
Orange becomes the first major European telco to pass ten million fibre customers in its domestic market, with Orange France CEO Jérôme Hénique eyeing further improvements to user experience and network in the near future…
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Network & Infra
France’s SFR moves on from cable and puts full faith in fibre
Around 400,000 households are still using SFR’s cable services in France, but are being encouraged to migrate to FTTH services.
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People
France’s TDF installs new towerco boss
French wireless infra group names Nicolas Gibergues as Managing Director of business’ Towerco unit, claiming his international and sector-specific experience will enable it to compete in an “increasingly competitive” infra market…
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Analyst Briefings
Orangewatch Analyst Briefing: MásOrange’s grand plans, 2G sunset in France, and OpenAI in Africa
From finalising the French 2G sunset and expanding its OpenAI partnership for African markets, to navigating a complex competitive landscape in Spain, Orange Group is again making significant strategic moves. We break down the key developments in this essential briefing for Orange insiders.
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Network & Infra
Orange firms up French 2G sunset timeline
Operator plans to retire its 2G network by end of 2026, with Anglet, Bayonne, and Biarritz set to be the first locations for the switch-off next year.
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Network & Infra
The single source of truth: how TowerCos and MNOs are mastering digital twins
From accelerating M&A due diligence to slashing truck rolls and ensuring revenue, digital twins are reshaping MNO and TowerCo operations. At different stages of adoption, but as one on importance of getting the data right, leaders from BT, TDF, PTI and vHive reveal how this technology is creating the digital truth for physical assets, how this can be advantaged, and what’s next…
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Venturing & Investments
Deutsche Telekom lines up Brookfield for AI data centre investment
Deutsche Telekom turns to towerco partner Brookfield Asset Management for co-investment in AI data centres and considers setting up an off-balance sheet partnership as competition heats up for EU-funded contracts.
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M&A
Cellnex ‘not exposed’ to looming telco M&A in France, says CEO
Marco Patuano underlines towerco’s strong market position in France, and said it would be a critical partner in any MNO consolidation moves.
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Analyst Briefings
Orangewatch Analyst Briefing: H1 results, M&A in France, and interviews with Orange Business execs
Latest from Orange, including the analysis of the Group’s recent earnings call; ongoing speculation about M&A in France and the future of SFR; interviews with a series of senior execs; and the latest from Spain…
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M&A
Investor Arjun enters data centre market with Data4 stake buy
Arjun Infrastructure Partners acquires minority stake in Data4’s “stabilised” data centre portfolio, boosting the provider’s European expansion plans. Move further bulks up Arjun’s digital portfolio following significant fibre buys. Read more…
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M&A
Bouygues, SFR move to offload wireless infra JV to Phoenix Tower
French telco duo enters exclusive discussions with tower group on sell-off rural wireless infrastructure assets, aiming to further ease debt burdens…
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Financial & Performance
Orange ‘ready to engage’ in M&A talks in France — Heydemann
H1 FY25: Orange remains convinced of need for consolidation in France, although potential sale of SFR remains up in the air ahead of a court decision on Altice France debt restructuring plan.
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Interview
Interview: Chief Trust Officer on Orange Business’ ‘gold’ standard for secure cloud services
Orange’s B2B unit has beaten its Bleu cloud JV to the punch by obtaining France’s SecNumCloud 3.2 qualification for an IaaS offering. The Group is now one of nine providers in France to have obtained this trusted cloud security visa.
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Interview
Interview: CDIO on Orange Business’ pivot to greenfield, ‘AI first’ tech stack
Exclusive: Hriday Ravindranath explains thinking behind ambitious shift onto entirely new B2B IT stack for AI-era products as Orange Business reinvents itself built on digital-first, AI-native platform principles, underpinned by ‘design partnerships’ with Blue Planet, CSG, ServiceNow and Splunk…
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Venturing & Investments
UK gov allocates €163m to Eutelsat fundraising
UK government earmarks sizeable contibution as part of French satellite operator’s €1.5bn funding round. Eutelsat plans to expand OneWeb LEO constellation, shift towards enterprise- and government-focused go-to-market model. Read more…
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M&A
SFR sale speculation: Blackstone is latest name in frame
Bloomberg reports that US asset manager Blackstone is exploring a joint bid worth up to €30bn, and is talking to other potential interested parties, including SFR’s competitors.
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Public Affairs
‘A major contradiction’: Orange’s Heydemann joins criticism of Palais de la Découverte closure
Christel Heydemann supports calls to save a popular and influential science museum amid fears it is to be closed or reopened in a reduced format.
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B2B
Orange Business zones in on defence and security with dedicated unit
The new Defence & Security Division aims to tap into group expertise in AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing to support these “complex sectors” with a focus on resilience and sovereignty.
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Strategy & Change
Orange outlines plan to simplify French operations
Orange France’s proposed reorganisation project, dubbed “Regain”, seeks to boost profitability and improve efficiency as competitive pressures intensify in its home market, but job cuts are not part of the plan.
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M&A
Eutelsat to boost LEO expansion with €1.3bn+ capital raise
French satellite operator raises fresh funding from existing investors, with national government set to become its largest shareholder. Satco said the financing will enable LEO expansion as it executes its “long-term” strategic vision.