Europe : The activation of the EDGE function of the Alcatel-deployed GSM/GPRS network naturally complements the coverage and performance of the 3G/UMTS network partly deployed by Alcatel across the northern half of France.

Orange gives all its customers access to a high quality Mobile Broadband service ( including new video services, file downloading and television ) via their mobile phones, laptop computers, or PDA/smartphones whether they are in the country, a small town or in the heart of a large city.

For services such as Internet access, video streaming or file downloading, EDGE technology, as implemented by Alcatel, offers a far higher bandwidth than that of GPRS, with an excellent quality of service. It also allows the distribution of a large number of new video and television services, using the existing national GSM/GPRS network. When used jointly, the EDGE and 3G technologies are complementary hence enabling operators to better meet their customers' needs.

"The simplicity of the implementation of Alcatel's EDGE solution played a major role in allowing a quicker deployment by Orange of the first national Mobile Broadband network in France," stated Didier Quillot, Chief Executive Officer of Orange France.

"The success of the introduction of Alcatel's EDGE solution by Orange also confirms the technological leadership of the Evolium™ multi-standard solutions ( UMTS/GSM/EDGE ), that allow the simple and cost-effective introduction of new technologies, such as EDGE or UMTS today, and HSDPA tomorrow, by a simple software update" declared Marc Rouanne, Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel's mobile activities. "The flexibility of our solution also enables operators like Orange, who are already active in 3G, to optimise their technological choices in order to provide each individual customer with the service best adapted to his or her use of broadband and geographical location."

This deployment in France completes Orange's program- of EDGE deployment initiated in Romania in February 2004, again based on the flexibility of Alcatel's Evolium™ multi-standard solution.

About Orange
Orange, a subsidiary of France Télécom, is one of the world leaders in mobile telephony. Orange France is the country's leading mobile telecommunications operator with a market share exceeding 47.7% and more than 21.3 million customers on 31 December 2004.

About Alcatel
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world.