Environmental The way we choose to live has a massive impact on our planet. That much is clear.

So were doing whatever we can to cut our CO2 emissions, use less energy and make sure the energy we do use comes from renewable sources. Our 2007 carbon footprint was 150,239 tonnes of CO2e. By 2008 we reduced it to 133,186 and last year it was down even further to 56,745 tonnes of CO2e. But it doesnt stop there: were continuing activities to drive our footprint down. Greener Energy - All of the electricity we buy now is from a renewable energy tariff. Thats 80% of all the energy we use. And were working on the last 20% too. In Wales, for example, our mast at Elan runs off wind- and solar-powered energy. Less Energy - 70% of the energy we use goes to power our network (thats the energy we use at our end every time someone makes a phone call or goes online), so were installing smart meters at all of our masts and base stations. This will enable us to understand how were using energy and make sure were as efficient as possible. Travelling Less - Were using more video and teleconferencing, so that we dont have to take as many flights and trains. And were exploring flexible and home-working, so were not travelling to and from the office as often. Last year, we cut our business flights by over a third, and we doubled our use of videoconferencing. Weve also introduced a greener company car policy, offering fuelefficient cars with lower CO2 emissions. And our employees love to get on their bikes. Thanks to our cycle-to-work scheme that makes buying a bike tax-free, they bought 664 new bikes in 2009. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Its not a new message, but its still an important one. Were working hard to cut down on the amount of paper we use, send less rubbish to landfill and find new uses for old phones and other gadgets. We now use 50% less paper than we did in 2008, and thats thanks to many different initiatives. Like using less paper to package our phones, from the box to the manuals and other flyers inside; or moving more people to paperless billing; and launching our new mini SIM cards. Three billion new SIM cards are made every year around the world. And each one sits in a piece of plastic the size of a credit card 90% of which is redundant. So we had an idea. We launched a mini SIM, which lets us print two SIMs in the space of one. Now, 80% of our SIMs are mini SIMs. We were the first mobile network in Europe to do it, and we seem to have started a trend. Paperless billing not only uses less paper, it cuts costs too. We set a target to get 40% of our customers on e-billing by the end of 2010, and we smashed that. We also put all new Orange customers on e-billing automatically, unless they ask us not to. We now recycle nearly 40% of our waste, but were working on ways to recycle more. Last year, for example, we tried having just one recycling bin for everything paper, plastic, glass in two of our offices and it boosted recycling to over 56%. So well do more of the same in 2011, across all our offices.

Weve got several programmes that find new uses for old electronic equipment. Weve donated over 1,000 computer monitors to the charity Computer Aid since 2007. In 2009 our employees raised over 16,000 for our charity fund by donating old phones. In November 2009, we had a light bulb moment: people drop their old phones off in our stores, and, in return, we send them a cheque in the post. Its been a huge hit. Weve already given back over 500,000 to our customers. We also pop a Recycle & Reward envelope in the boxes of all our new phones, again making it easy for customers to recycle their phone and get a big thank-you for doing so. Theres no point letting perfectly good phones go to waste. We sell a range of refurbished phones through our online shop and through eBay. Our energy-efficient eco charger shuts itself off automatically when youre fully charged. And it works with almost all mobile phones. So if youre thinking of buying a charger, why not get one that all your mates will be able to use too? You can buy one from our online shop. Were also supporting a new European initiative to develop one charger to fit all phones in the future. Itll mean you dont have to throw away and buy a new charger every time you switch phones and thats a lot less electrical waste going to landfill. In the last year, the rise of smartphones, social networking, 3G and apps has changed the way we live. The way we stay in touch, the way we manage our time, the way we learn. And we believe we can harness all of these things to make the world more sustainable in the future. This will be our focus in the future: developing technology that makes sustainability nothing more than part of our normal, everyday lives. Making it effortless, making it fun. There are already apps that can track our energy use and carbon footprints, but weve only just begun to discover whats possible.

We have adopted eight business principles that guide how we do business responsibly wherever we operate, five of which relate to customer service. We will deliver quality, value and excellent service to you. We will deliver quality and value for money, and always endeavour to put customers first. We will follow responsible marketing practices. We will make sure that our customers can make informed choices based on honest and straightforward information. We will provide information about health, safety and environmental aspects of our products and services. We will protect the confidentiality of information given to us by our customers in keeping with relevant laws.

Sales and Marketing Practices: A Guide to Ofcom Regulation Orange is committed to brilliant customer service. We work hard to ensure you have the best customer experience possible from the moment you first step into one of our shops. We always do our utmost to sell our products and services responsibly and we have measures in place to ensure this is the case, whether you buy our products directly from us, or from one of our partners. We also abide by Ofcoms regulation of mobile operators sales and marketing practices. th This is regulation is known as General Condition 23 and came into force on 16 September 2009. Its core aim is to combat mis-selling. The key principles of the regulation apply to all consumer and small business mobile handset/airtime sales and upgrades, with specific requirements in place for paymonthly customers. We have put together this summary of the regulation to help you understand what the regulation means. If you want to see a full copy of the regulation, click here or give us a call and well send you a copy. What does General Condition 23 require Orange to do? The regulation requires Orange to follow a set of minimum standards to prevent mis-selling. Under the regulation, we are required to do the following things: We must ensure that we sell responsibly and honestly we must not be dishonest, misleading, deceptive, aggressive or contact the customer inappropriately (for example, after 8pm at night). We must make sure all our sales staff are properly trained to meet the minimum standards set out in the regulation and take steps to ensure our dealers do the same too. We must provide our customers with information about Ofcoms regulation upon request We must keep a close eye on our dealers to help make sure they do not mis-sell, that they keep records of sales and upgrades (in the case of Pay Monthly contracts), and that they take steps to adhere to Ofcoms regulation. We do this by monitoring the unresolved complaints we receive from customers about our dealers and will take action where there is evidence that dealers have not followed the regulation. Before we sign a new dealer up to sell our services, we have to perform certain checks to make sure they are responsible businesses. If you are signing up to a Pay Monthly contract, we and our dealers must make sure that we:

 Check you understand that you are entering into a contract and have the right proofs to confirm your identity. Provide you with written details about your contract before you sign up/upgrade. If you are signing up/upgrading via telesales, you should be provided with full details of your contract on the call and we will make sure you are sent confirmation of this information in good time after the sale is made. This information should tell you what you need to know about the service youre signing up to, how much it will cost per month, and what you need to do if you change your mind. Keep records of the sales, upgrades and sales offers that are made.
5

On 21 March 2007 Watchdog, a television series by the BBC focusing on consumer protection, published the results from a Broadband survey they held. According to the survey Orange is the worst ISP in the UK. 68% of Orange customers that took part in the survey said they were unsatisfied with Orange's Customer Service, it was voted as the most unreliable broadband provider, and it had the highest number of dissatisfied customers. Two thirds of Orange customers experienced problems cancelling their Orange broadband. In response to the problems with Orange UK broadband and 3G broadband during March 2009 and April 2009 the 3G data network has been upgraded to 3.5G and increased signal coverage. This new network can be seen in action on many mobile phones which display network for instance the Nokia N95, when the phone detects the higher speed. The Orange UK mobile broadband USB adapter works with the new network. The 3G networks for all telecommunication suppliers still struggle to get the throughput that was originally advertised when these networks were announced. The UK Telecomms Regulator has reported on the challenges for all suppliers. A consumer organisation forum web site known as OrangeProblems.co.uk focuses on the poor level of service provided by Orange Broadband in the UK. Initially set up as WanadooProblems.co.uk, the site focuses on the infamous Orange Local Loop Unbundling and poor Customer service but covers a wider range of Orange operations such as lost email, significantly delayed SMTP and outages, suspicions of eavesdropping, et al. Orange Mobile has been criticised during a Channel 4 News investigation for a lack of security which potentially exposed customer records to fraud. In August 2007 Orange was criticised for summarily deleting email accounts tied to old Freeserve and Wanadoo 'pay as you go' dial-up accounts with no warning. In August 2008, after well publicised problems with iPhone 3G performances, customers compared their download speed and discovered that Orange in France was capping 3G download bandwidth. Orange admitted capping to 384kbit/s, well below the theoretical 7.2Mbit/s provided by the iPhone.

From a business standpoint, despite a serious deterioration in the economic environment in 2009, the telecommunications industry and our company proved quite resilient. Revenues were generally stable on a comparable basis and excluding the impact of regulatory decisions, even though the broader economy in our markets trended downwards. This led to a 4% increase in ADSL broadband customers during the year and a rise of nearly 9% in the mobile customer base. These results reflect the contributions of all our people in all countries. We maintained our EBITDA margin and exceeded our objectives in terms of organic cash flow. This performance has enabled us to continue to reduce our debt and to propose a dividend of 1.40 euros per share to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. In Europe, a deteriorated economic climate and the impact of regulatory measures in some markets impacted the Groups growth. We also played a role in the consolidation trend in our industry in Europe through two major operations in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the first of which took concrete shape during the first half of 2010. These initiatives are designed to strengthen the Groups positions and improve our performance in these mature markets. Business trends remained positive outside Europe, especially in Africa and the Middle East. We adjusted our capital expenditure to economic conditions in 2009 while sustaining our efforts in strategic areas such as 3G mobile networks and selective acquisition of new licences in emerging countries.

On 21 March 2007 Watchdog, a television series by the BBC focusing on consumer protection, published the results from a Broadband survey they held. According to the survey Orange is the worst ISP in the UK. 68% of Orange customers that took part in the survey said they were unsatisfied with Orange's Customer Service, it was voted as the most unreliable broadband provider, and it had the highest number of dissatisfied customers. Two thirds of Orange customers experienced problems cancelling their Orange broadband. In response to the problems with Orange UK broadband and 3G broadband during March 2009 and April 2009 the 3G data network has been upgraded to 3.5G and increased signal coverage. This new network can be seen in action on many mobile phones which display network for instance the Nokia N95, when the phone detects the higher speed. The Orange UK mobile broadband USB adapter works with the new network. The 3G networks for all telecommunication suppliers still struggle to get the throughput that was originally advertised when these networks were announced. The UK Telecomms Regulator has reported on the challenges for all suppliers. A consumer organisation forum web site known as OrangeProblems.co.uk focuses on the poor level of service provided by Orange Broadband in the UK. Initially set up as WanadooProblems.co.uk, the site focuses on the infamous Orange Local Loop Unbundling and poor Customer service but covers a wider range of Orange operations such as lost email, significantly delayed SMTP and outages, suspicions of eavesdropping, et al. Orange Mobile has been criticised during a Channel 4 News investigation for a lack of security which potentially exposed customer records to fraud. In August 2007 Orange was criticised for summarily deleting email accounts tied to old Freeserve and Wanadoo 'pay as you go' dial-up accounts with no warning. In August 2008, after well publicised problems with iPhone 3G performances, customers compared their download speed and discovered that Orange in France was capping 3G download bandwidth. Orange admitted capping to 384kbit/s, well below the theoretical 7.2Mbit/s provided by the iPhone.

political New Coalition Government Changes Stops/Preventions (taxes, vat)

VAT The standard rate of VAT was temporarily reduced to 15 per cent on 1 December 2008 in a bid from Labour chancellor Alistair Darling to try and stimulate the economy. This would in theory be seen as a positive move from a business point of view but our financial records show very little change from the resulting lower VAT rates. The standard rate of VAT then returned to 17.5 per cent on 1 January 2010. On 4 January 2011 the standard rate increased to 20 per cent. It is difficult to state what sort of significant impact these rate changes have had on our business, as the change has not been in place for too long, however, the change is likely to have a negative effect on Orange, as consumers will have to spend more of their income on VAT so may have less to spend on our products. However, this ultimately depends on the elasticity of demand of the products we are offering to our customers. If our customers view our products as having a price elastic demand, then the VAT rise will have a negative effect on revenue. However, if customers view our products as having a price inelastic demand then our business could benefit from the rise. Labour says the increase in VAT will cost the average family 7.50 a week. For any sales of standard-rated goods or services made between 1 January 2010 and 3 January 2011 inclusive businesses would have charged VAT at the rate of 17.5 per cent. However, we at Orange came under some criticism as we charged 20% VAT on December 2010 calls, texts and data usage. The extra charge would have been felt most by the 15% of pay monthly mobile customers that regularly go over their free call, text and data allocation. It was these charges which have had the extra VAT added to them. But with a higher number of long distance calls during the festive period it is likely that spending on calls was higher than normal in December, and more people would have been affected than in a typical month. Therefore, we saw an increase in consumer expenditure in December 2010. A lack of strict guidance from HM Revenue & Customs means phone companies like ourselves are not breaking any rules by charging 20% VAT on phone usage prior to January 4. There were no changes to sales that are zero-rated or reduced-rated for VAT. Similarly, there were no changes to the VAT exemptions. Any sales our business made at these rates were unaffected by this change. The total number of Orange UK mobile customers in 2010 has decreased by 0.2% from 2009 which although is a very small percentage may provide evidence to suggest the harsh economic period the country finds itself in has resulted in some consumers leaving Orange. Once thing I would therefore look at in 2011 is ways to reverse this, so more consumers turn to Orange during economic difficulties. The government hopes the rise in VAT will raise 13bn a year but it is predicted to hit retail sales, which would obviously therefore have an effect on the sales of Orange. However the prime minister said it was part of an economic policy which was forecast to lead to an increase in employment in the next five years. Asked how many jobs were predicted to be lost as a result of the VAT rise, the current prime minister, David Cameron, said any tax rise would have an impact on the economy but the

government was having to deal with a "vast pit of debt" and if the budget deficit was not tackled confidence would "sap" out of the British economy. Mr Cameron also said: "If you didn't do VAT, what tax would you do? The first category there would probably be National Insurance. that's what Labour have committed to - and putting up National Insurance when you're trying to get the economy growing and jobs growing would be a perverse thing to do." Labour had planned to increase National Insurance Contributions (NICs) by 1% for both employers and employees. The coalition, however, is raising the starting point for employers' NICs to reduce the cost to firms, and is leaving in place the higher levies on employees. This relatively new government policy therefore benefits Orange as it decreases expenditure from the business. Roaming Charges New rules aimed at reducing the price gap between using a mobile phone at home and elsewhere in the EU have been proposed. The European Commission wants to cut "roaming" costs - when calls are made or received, text messages sent or data downloaded when travelling in Europe. New, lower price caps could come into force in stages to July 2014. By then, mobile phone customers would also be able to separate their national and overseas contracts and shop around. They would still be able to use their same phone number, but could switch to a separate operator when in another country for a cheaper deal for surfing the web or downloading music or photos. At present, mobile users can buy a Sim card local to the country in which they are travelling, but this means they are on a different phone number to usual. The Commission hopes that more "virtual" operators, which do not have their own networks, would enter the roaming market. The extra competition would then be expected to push down prices. In the meantime, proposals have been published that would extend the level of price caps on calls and text messages for those travelling in Europe. Current EU roaming price caps will expire at the end of June 2012. The authorities fear that without putting more plans in place, prices could pick up to pre-2007 levels. For example, there is currently a cap of 35 euro cents (31p) a minute on calls made, excluding VAT. The proposals would see this falling steadily to 24 cents (22p), by July 2014. There is currently no cap per megabyte on downloading data, but this would be limited to 50 cents (45p) per megabyte by July 2014, under the Commission's plans. One megabyte is the equivalent of downloading 100 e-mails without attachments, less than an hour of internet browsing, one minute of downloading music or a few seconds of video downloading. A more general cap is in place at present to avoid so-called bill shocks. Operators are compelled to place a 50 euro (45) cap on users' data consumption in order to avoid

unexpectedly high bills. Customers who wish to continue their data roaming can request to have the limit removed. "This proposal tackles the root cause of the problem - the lack of competition on roaming markets - by giving customers more choice and by giving alternative operators easier access to the roaming market," said Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda. "It would also immediately bring down prices for data roaming, where operators currently enjoy outrageous profit margins." Current and proposed price caps Mobile use Current cap July 2012 90 cents (81p) 32 cents (29p) 11 cents (10p) 10 cents (9p) July 2013 70 cents (63p) 28 cents (25p) 10 cents (9p) 10 cents (9p) July 2014 50 cents (45p) 24 cents (22p) 10 cents (9p) 10 cents (9p)

SOURCE: EUROPEAN COMMISSION. ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT. Data - per megabyte Voice call made - per minute Voice call received - per minute Text message None 35 cents (31p) 11 cents (10p) 11 cents (10p)

The Commission hopes the proposals will be given the go-ahead by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers by next year. Ultimately, by 2015, the Commission would like to see prices for anyone making a call across the EU to be similar to making domestic calls. But a body representing mobile operators, including Orange, has criticised the plans. The GSM Association stated it was disappointed that the Commission was considering price capping in addition to structural changes to the market. "If any price caps are introduced, they should be set at true safeguard levels to avoid dampening innovation and competition in the market," a spokesman said. "The retail data roaming market is growing quickly and prices are falling fast. We are convinced that competition can flourish in this market - if all regulators are prepared to favour it." Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumers' Organisation, said: "Roaming should not be a trap of travel in Europe. But too often it is, due to the potentially sky high costs and the dire lack of market choice. "It is unjustifiable that data roaming can be 50 times more expensive than when at home."

Price regulation was introduced in 2007 by the then commissioner for information, society and media, Viviane Reding. Since then, the maximum call charge has been reduced by approximately 6% per year.

A group of UK mobile operators - O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile and our business (Orange) attempted to challenge the Commission's price-cutting agenda, taking our case to the European Court of Justice. However, our complaint was later dismissed. The new price caps are planned to be in place until 30 June, 2016, when the Commission hopes that extra competition will make them redundant.

If your mobile is on a pre-paid tariff, or you regularly use more than the number of minutes included in your contract, you will know just how expensive mobile call charges are. If you are a pay-as-you-go Vodafone or Orange customer, they are about to go up. From Friday Orange will up its minimum call charge for pay-as-you-go customers from 20p to 25p per minute - a 25% increase. Meanwhile, pay-as-you-go customers on Vodafone will see an increase in the cost of a text from 10p to 12p. Call charges to both mobiles and landlines will go up from 21p to 25p. only a handful of people will be affected by these changes.

Mobile phone charges will rise by up to 66 per cent in a punishing new blow for consumers. Millions of users signed to Orange and Vodafone will be hit with inflationbusting increases in contract and pay-as-you-go tariffs. The moves appear to be a direct retaliation against attempts by watchdogs to crack down on rip-off pricing in the industry. And they come as families are already suffering the biggest squeeze on living costs since the 1870s as price rises have outpaced increases in incomes for four years in a row. Orange is putting up its minimum call charge for pay-as-you-go customers from 20p to 25p from Friday a rise of 25 per cent.

Vodafone, meanwhile, is increasing the minimum call charge on some contracts from 15p to 25p or 66 per cent. These charges apply to calls made outside of those allowed by a customers monthly contract. Its pay-as-you-go users will see the cost of a text rise from 10p to 12p, while calls to mobiles and landlines will go up from 21p a minute to 25p. The Vodafone increases take effect on July 14. They are the latest in a series of increases by the major networks, who had vowed to recoup costs elsewhere if watchdogs in Britain and Europe curbed existing pricing structures. Between them, Vodafone and Orange share just under half the market. Given their clout, the other providers such as O2 are likely to follow suit. UK telecoms regulator Ofcom is forcing companies to reduce the amount they take from incoming calls to customers. Until earlier this year, the networks received 4.18p a minute from incoming calls through the so-called termination rate. That figure was cut to 2.66p a minute in April and will be further reduced Vodafone blamed the price rise on Ofcom. It said: 'We believe we continue to offer great value for all pay-as-you-go customers compared with our competitors. This price rise comes after recent regulatory changes. 'During our discussions with Ofcom over mobile termination rates, we stressed that if the rates came down rapidly and dramatically, the cost of payas-you-go was likely to rise as a consequence.' Vodafone said customers who buy regular monthly top-ups of at least 10 can earn extra free calls and texts under a system it calls Freebees. Orange said it remained committed to providing the best value and services possible. It added that the price rises were offset by new perks such as an increase in the number of free texts that customers get with a 10 top-up.

UK regulator Ofcom has given phone operators the green light to trade spectrum in a move intended to increase mobile network capacity. Available bandwidth is becoming a huge issue as smartphones put increasing demand on networks. The trading of airwaves comes ahead of a crucial spectrum auction next year that will usher in 4G data services. Both the auction and the decision to allow operators to trade existing spectrum have caused controversy. Spectrum trading allows operators to sell off the airwaves they own in the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz frequency bands. Historically the 900MHz slice of spectrum has belonged exclusively to O2 and Vodafone because they were the only two mobile operators on the market when it was handed out. While other nations have reallocated this spectrum to offer a more level-playing field ahead of 4G auctions, this has not happened in the UK. Ofcom had originally planned to redistribute the spectrum allocated to O2 and Vodafone, but was met with a legal action, initiated by the two operators. Ofcom dropped its plans following the merger of T-Mobile and Orange. Everything Everywhere (EE), the parent company of T-Mobile and Orange will be the biggest beneficiary of spectrum trading. It was required to sell off about 19 percent of its spectrum frequencies as a condition of the merger. Three is unhappy as it has the least spectrum to trade. "Spectrum is the lifeblood of smartphones and the mobile internet and for those with surplus holdings it is also a strategic asset, so voluntary trading is the exception," it said in a statement. "This move simply allows those who have been gifted access to public spectrum to profit from it, with no benefit for UK taxpayers." Three will voice its concerns later today at a Department of Culture select committee hearing set up to discuss the way spectrum is being allocated. O2 and Vodafone are unlikely to sell off any of their assets, according to Matthew Howett, an analyst with research firm Ovum. "It is simply too valuable to them and they would only trade it if they were forced to," he said. What may force their hand is the upcoming 4G auction in which Ofcom has set caps on the amount that can be bought. It will mean the operators with more existing spectrum will be able to buy less of the more valuable 4G airwaves. Ofcom has also ring-fenced some of the spectrum for new entrants such as Three. "It has done this because it recognised that 3 might not be able to survive and it values the disruptive nature of a player like 3," said Mr Howett. But O2 said it was tantamount to "state aid" and has threatened legal action. Any further delays to the auction could put the UK behind other European countries in the roll-out of 4G services, said Mr Howett. 4G will be crucial as the market continues to grow. According to Ofcom there are now 80 million mobiles in the UK, 12.8 million of which are smartphones.

"That will help all people who are basic rate taxpayers... it is going to be difficult but we did things in the Budget to help the economy, to help business, to make it cheaper to employ people." Mr Cameron said he was optimistic about the future but admitted 2011 was going to be "a tough and difficult year". But he said the government was "very strong" and would not change course because unions wanted to "kick off".

Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson told Sky News: "I now hear the prime minister has said, whereas the 50% tax rate for the richest in our society would not be permanent, the VAT increase would. "Now that's extraordinary given that it has twice the effect on the poorest in our society as on the richest." He defended Labour's plan to increase NI contributions - something the Conservatives described as a "tax on jobs" - saying it was a "tough decision" but raising VAT was "regressive" and hit pensioners and the poorest - and for employees, National Insurance was being raised anyway. But Mr Johnson was criticised after appearing to stumble over the current rate for employer's National Insurance contributions in an interview on Sky News. Lib Dem MP Stephen Williams said it showed Labour was "completely clueless on basic economics".

Corporation Tax rates

Rates for financial years starting on 1 April Rate Small Profits Rate* Small Profits Rate can be claimed by qualifying companies with profits at a rate not exceeding Marginal Relief Lower Limit Marginal Relief Upper Limit Standard fraction Main rate of Corporation Tax* Special rate for unit trusts and openended investment companies 2009 21%* 300,000 2010 21%* 300,000 2011 20%* 300,000 2012

300,000

300,000

300,000

1,500,000 1,500,000 1,500,000 7/400 28%* 20% 7/400 28%* 20% 3/200 26%* 20% 25%*

France Telecom yesterday remained steady in the face of volatile stock market conditions as it primed investors for a flotation up to 15% of the Orange mobile phone business. The flotation in Paris and London is likely to go ahead next month and will be a significant test of the market's sentiment toward telecom and hi-tech stocks. It will also be a test for the backlog of companies considering flotations. The enlarged Orange, which includes the mobile phone assets of France Telecom, is expected to be valued at 75bn-80bn (47bn-51bn), around half the original estimates of 150bn when markets were at their peak last year. Michel Bon, France Telecom chairman, said: "Clearly the market is not what it what it was and sure prices are different but that is not really the point. We have built something that will be one of the greatest players in the mobile market in the world. "If the price today is not the highest possible, it may be tomorrow and we will still own between 85% and 90%,". Details of pricing and the exact number of shares on offer will be published later this month, the provisional date being January 22. In addition, France Telecom is planning to issue a bond which will be exchangeable for Orange shares at an unspecified premium to the share offer price. The bond issue will increase the offer size by up to a third and was viewed as a safeguard for investors nervous about the equity markets. Orange said the market would determine how much it could raise from the flotation.

The marketing campaign for retail and institutional investors began in Britain and Germany yesterday. There will also be a media campaign in France and Italy beginning later this month, coinciding with publication of the pathfinder prospectus. Information on the share offer will be available from any Orange shop, HSBC branches and through an Orange hotline. The combined business, which also includes Itineris in France, has a customer base of 30m across 19 countries. The intention is to roll the Orange brand out across the group. It will use its shares as currency for further acquisitions and hopes to expand across Asia and into north America. Hans Snook, who is giving up the role of Orange chief executive to become a part-time consultant to the business, said: "This is the second time in our history that we have been on the runway to flotation but this time it is a very different business. "At the end of 1995 we had 385,000 subscribers. We now have more than 10m and the UK is only a part of the business. Orange is a far bigger group with a far bigger opportunity." It has been an extraordinary 18 months for Orange. The company was first bought by Mannesmann, the German engineering and telecoms group. That sparked a successful hostile bid for Mannesmann by Vodafone, leading to the 26bn sale of Orange to France Telecom in May last year. France Telecom is expected to use proceeds from the sale to buy back shares issued to Vodafone during the transaction.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/01/is-ofcom-to-blame-for-rising-mobile-charges

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13855655

The nation's biggest mobile phone operators have clubbed together to develop technology that will turn your mobile phone into your wallet, travel card and front-door key. Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile announced plans on Thursday for a joint venture that would allow shoppers to pay for goods and services with their phones rather than cash or cards. Consumers will be able to pay for sandwiches, drinks and train tickets by placing their phones close to a reader similar to the Oyster card system on the London Underground. In the future the technology might even allow you to unlock your front door and start your car. Guy Laurence, chief executive of Vodafone UK, said the technology would enable "everyone to put their whole life in their pocket on one device". "The mobile has become the one item people really cannot be without," he said. "In the near future, people will start leaving their wallets at home ... and in the mid-term, access to cars and homes will be built into phones." Tom Alexander, chief executive of Everything Everywhere, which owns Orange and TMobile, said the new system would allow consumers to "manage their money and make payments using their handsets, helping advertisers reach their customers on the move, and helping banks provide their clients with an easy and convenient way of making payments". The "wave-and-pay" technology, called near-field communication (NFC), has proved popular in the Japan and South Korea, but has so far failed to make an impact in Europe.

The fiercely competitive operators said working together was the only way to bring the technology to the masses and encourage mobile phone manufacturers to include it in their forthcoming models. Ronan Dunne, chief executive of O2 UK, said: "The mobile marketing and payments market is extremely fragmented. By creating this new business we will underpin this nascent market, providing real size and scale." Kevin Russell, chief executive of 3, the UK's smallest operator, hit out at his larger rivals for leaving 3 out of the project. "We would want and expect to be a part at the heart of a crossindustry development like this and are more than a little concerned that, as a core competitor, we have not yet been invited to be part of this joint venture," he said. Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere said the service would be open to all retailers, banks, ticketing companies, advertisers and other mobile companies, including 3, Tesco and Virgin Mobile. The trio said they would inject significant capital into the project and would each own one third of the equity. The service is expected to go live early next year, subject to regulatory clearance. IE Market Research says NFC payments will account for a third of the 700bn global market for mobile payments by 2014.

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1711579/Phone-firms-charged-20VAT-ubeforeu-rise.html#ixzz1RvkJAYd6