MEX

Orange, the pan-European operator controlled by France Telecom, has chosen Nokia and Ericsson as its suppliers of MMS technology.

Both companies have entered into framework agreements which give them the opportunity to pitch their products to the 22 companies in the Orange group. Ericsson’s first deployment will be with France Telecom. It will supply an MMS platform, integration and support services. Nokia is yet to make a customer announcement. The news will come as a blow to messaging infrastructure providers CMG and Logica, which dominated the SMS market. They have been facing increasingly stiff competition from Nokia and Ericsson, which are anxious not to miss a market opportunity for the second time.

“This agreement demonstrates the trust shown in our solutions by another major mobile operator in the world. We are pleased to be in a position to contribute with Orange Group to the success of MMS and Mobile Internet. Moreover, the contract with Orange France reinforces Ericsson’s position on the French market,” said Guy Roussel, President of the Global Customer Unit France Telecom Group, Ericsson. Pertti Melamies, Vice President, Nokia Networks, commented: “MMS is the first true multimedia application of the mobile industry and a first step towards the third generation. We are excited to bring it to reality now with Orange, an operator recognized by the industry for its forward thinking and continuous development of wireless applications.”