Orange and China Telecom today signed a strategic partnership framework agreement in Beijing in order to make the most of the complementary aspects of their networks and services.

Commencing with the enterprise and wholesale segments, Orange and China Telecom see great advantages in cooperating in the rapidly evolving, global enterprise market and believe a close business relationship will bring benefits to both by leveraging China Telecom's strengths in China and the Asia Pacific region, and Orange's distinct geographic reach in Europe and Africa.

Under the agreement, the first areas of cooperation involve providing improved access and services for Orange's business customers in China and China Telecom's in Europe; improved access to international cable networks for both parties; and providing WiFi roaming services for both parties' customers.

The agreement, which may be extended to other areas at a later date, covers cooperation in several specific areas:

IPVPN cooperation: Orange has agreed to establish cooperation in IPVPN (Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network) services across its footprint in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, to allow China Telecom to extend IPVPN services for subsidiaries of Chinese multinational companies;

managed services: China Telecom has agreed to provide managed outsourced and field services to Orange's multinational customers in China to allow Orange to improve IPVPN services to its enterprise customers in China and other Asia-Pacific countries;

network resources cooperation: both parties have agreed to complement each other's network development planning and deployment in their respective regions, focusing on the submarine and terrestrial cable links between the Asia and Asia-Pacific regions and Europe, as well as ensuring improved connectivity to Africa;

WiFi roaming: Orange will facilitate the ability of China Telecom's customers to roam on WiFi hotspots in Europe; and China Telecom will facilitate the ability of Orange's customers to roam on WiFi hotspots in China.

The cooperation agreement was signed by St閜hane Richard, Chairman and CEO of France Telecom-Orange, and Chairman Wang of China Telecom following a visit on 12 October 2011.

St閜hane Richard commented: "this agreement marks an important step forward for Orange in working closely with China Telecom, one of the most important players in the Asia � Pacific region. Both parties are set to benefit from close cooperation by enabling each other to provide better customer access and services in our respective regions and support the development of our multinational business customers internationally."

Mr. Wang, Chairman of the Board of China Telecom, commented that "the strategic cooperation between China Telecom and France Telecom is an important part of the foreign cooperation strategy by China Telecom. The signing of the Cooperation Framework will definitely promote closer cooperation between both parties in the relevant business areas, therefore realizing the ambition of servicing customers globally."