European operations supports compatible contact-less services

The new SIM cards will be introduced for post-paid offers in most of the Group's European operations from the second half of 2011, it was announced in a meet with mobile handset manufacturers in Paris. The Group is also working with manufacturers to ensure that over half of new smartphone models it buys will be compatible with contactless services when combined with the new, secure SIM card. Orange has also announced its ambition to equip at least 500,000 of its customers in France with compatible handsets by the end of 2011.

According to Juniper Research, the mobile payment market is expected to represent up to $27 billion for the European market as a whole by 2014 and is set to generate a continuous revenue stream for operators once a critical mass of customers are equipped with compatible handsets.

Stephane Richard, CEO of France Telecom-Orange opines that the smartphone revolution has changed the way people organize their daily lives. People today are constantly connected and constantly on the move. We are seizing the opportunity this creates to make everyday transactions simple. He added that Orange is working with other operators, banks, retailers, transport and service providers to create an eco-system which will stimulate the development of services adapted to everyone's needs.