Orange to launch UMTS in France in second half of 2002

date: 22nd February 2001, source by: FT.com

France Telecom SA, the French ex-monopoly telecoms operator, has chosen the occasion of the GSM World Congress in Cannes to unveil part of its future intentions as it bids for a UMTS licence. Its mobile telephony subsidiary Itineris predicts that its UMTS network will be up and running in several major cities by the second half of 2002.

The company is committed to providing a service to half of France's population by 2003. All this depends, of course, on the availability of UMTS terminals. According to Didier Quillot, managing director of France Telecom Mobiles, his suppliers have promised to supply the necessary equipment by the second half of 2002. He is cautious, however, about announcing firm timetables. The new terminals will be able to link to both GPRS and UMTS networks.

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