Mobile phone operator Orange today teamed up with top British cable group NTL Inc. in an attempt by common shareholder France Telecom to foster cooperation between its British interests.
Orange will gain access to a fixed-line customer base, while Britain's biggest cable TV and telephone group will finally realise its ambition to break into the mobile phone market and offer its three million customers a fixed and mobile communications package.
"Working with Orange as our mobile partner means that we will be able to offer our customers a very convenient one-stop shop solution for all their communications needs," said Mr Stephen Carter, managing director of NTL UK and Ireland.
The two groups said they would explore new mobile products and services which would increase revenues for both sides, and create clear synergies between France Telecom-owned Orange and NTL, in which the French giant has a 25 per cent stake.
France Telecom's commitment to NTL, which has seen debts spiral after acquisitions and network expansion, was called into question after the cable group abandoned a third-generation mobile phone licence auction in Britain last April.
But France Telecom, which also controls leading UK Internet service provider Freeserve through Wanadoo, has long promised cooperation between the three businesses.
Details of the NTL and Orange commercial services will be finalised over the next few months, prior to a probable launch in the autumn, Orange said at the weekend.