The agreement allows Orange to offer a fixed line telephony service under its own brand, which is provided, managed and maintained by BT Wholesale. The deal supports Orange’s strategy to offer mobile, broadband, fixed and entertainment services from a single provider.
Orange becomes the latest major customer to partner with BT Wholesale around a managed network solution. Since the launch of BT Wholesale’s managed services strategy one year ago, BT Wholesale has landed a series of major, long term managed services partnerships with some of the UK’s biggest communications providers, amounting to around £1 billion in revenue.
Under the terms of today’s agreement, Orange has selected a suite of integrated services from BT Wholesale’s White Label Managed Services portfolio. BT Wholesale will provide Orange with a managed service for all of its fixed line telephony requirements, consisting of wholesale line rental, wholesale calls, and end to end customer management. This includes the set up and ongoing management of Orange’s customer call centres, specifically to provide its customers with telephone support around fixed line calls.
The end to end management of Orange’s fixed line service by BT Wholesale removes the need for Orange to build, support and maintain its own fixed line network and deliver the service, back-office systems and customer support facilities by itself. By partnering with BT Wholesale around a managed network solution, Orange will enter the market for fixed line and bundled services faster, at lower cost and without the risks associated with building out its own fixed line network.
Asif Aziz, Director of Home Products, Orange said, “It is our goal to provide mobile, broadband, fixed line and TV to every house in Britain. This is an important step in making that a reality by providing our customers with all of their communication needs from one supplier. The agreement enables us to provide our customers with all their home services in one bill, with additional customer service needed to support this addition to our product portfolio.”
Brian Fitzpatrick, managing director of BT Wholesale Markets, said: “Mobile and fixed line operators are actively broadening the range of the services they offer customers. Today’s announcement is further evidence that BT Wholesale is the ideal partner to help bring these exciting new services to customers. It means that Orange can continue to continue to compete, at minimal risk and without the need for heavy, upfront capital investment. Orange is entering a competitive marketplace and this means speed of entry and quality of service are key.”