Telecom & IT / Tunisia
Orange revolution
What did Orange Tunisie bring to this market when it became the first operator to exploit the 3G license?
The arrival of Orange Tunisie has brought a democratisation of the Internet in the country. In fact, less than three years after the launch of Orange, the number of 3G dongles has almost equalled the number of ADSL lines in the country. As regards competition in the landline network, additional efforts still need to be made by the authorities to bring about the unbundling of lines, thereby giving access to Orange. This is a common situation in the telecoms sector around the world. It is extremely unusual for an incumbent operator in any country to unbundle lines without strong pressure from the authorities.
How do you explain the excitement around Orange’s launch in 2010, despite the high penetration rates in mobile telephony?
Prior to Orange’s arrival, the Tunisian mobile phone market was characterised by very high prices. Orange’s arrival gave rise to a much broader offering, with flat rates to all operators. In addition the Tunisian market has benefited from Orange’s exclusive contribution in terms of equipment, terminals and technologies. Orange Tunisie’s 3G network is currently acknowledged as the leader in terms of quality of service.
What are your competitive assets and your strategy for growth ?
Orange Tunisie was born of a joint venture between a Tunisian partner, the Investec group, and the Orange group. Investec is widely renowned for its know-how in both the Internet sector and the business market. The Orange group is renowned for its worldwide strength. Orange Tunisie has taken the best from this alliance to become the first convergent operator in the country. We will continue to use the best technology to provide a more user-friendly experience for its customers. Moreover, we will make every effort to ensure that number portability, to be introduced by the telecoms regulator as of 16 July 2013, is a complete success in the country. Orange Tunisie will continue to work with the authorities towards making the unbundling of Tunisie Telecom’s land lines a reality. All this will allow us to provide services suited to the needs of its Tunisian customers.
What importance do you give to CSR in Tunisia?
Corporate social responsibility lies at the very heart of our territorial development strategy. We work together with a network of community associations, currently in full effervescence in Tunisia, and also with university student groups, confronted with dire employment prospects. Thus, we have launched several projects, including a management awareness campaign geared towards young students from several universities and schools, who will become « tomorrow’s leaders » and who must place ethics at the heart of business. We are mentoring a group of young developers of innovative and socially responsible mobile applications. We support the development of telemedicine in Tunisia in partnership with an engineering school. We have also created an incubator for ITC startups. Our recent membership of the United Nations Global Compact has reinforced our ambition to become a leader in the sphere of CSR.
