registration document France Telecom 2009 - Orange.com

overview of the Group’s Business
6
OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
Ivory Coast
Orange Money
The ATCI gave its agreement for the launch of Orange Money,
which provides a simple payment solution via mobile phones for
an underbanked population.
Mobile Interconnection
On February 3, 2009 the ATCI changed the interconnection
price from 57 CFA francs to 45 CFA francs ex VAT per minute.
SMS and MMS are at 20 CFA francs ex VAT. On January 1,
2010, the interconnection price changed to 43 CFA francs
ex VAT.
Mobile Operators
The arrival of two new operators brings the number of mobile
operators to 7. The two new operators are E mirati Warid and
R.Com. According to the ATCI, the market will be self-regulating
and only the most effi cient operators will remain.
Program launched by the ATCI for the Identification of Mobile Subscribers
This operation started on July 1, 2009 and will take place until
December 31, 2010. All subscribers possessing SIM cards
must be registered by their operators by supplying information
regarding their identity backed by offi cial documents. Following
this procedure, those that have not come forward will have their
service terminated.
Tax on incoming International Traffic
Orange Côte d’Ivoire and Côte d’Ivoire Télécom are opposed to
the tax on incoming international traffi c. The government took
note of the operators’ arguments and suspended application
of this tax.
Côte d’Ivoire Télécom and Orange Côte d’Ivoire’s Activities
Z FINANCIAL AND OPERATING INDICATORS
Financial and operating indicators 2009 2008 2007
Revenues (in millions of euros) 458 444 413
Number of customers (in thousands)
Fixed-line 284 279 250
I nternet-line 47 44 23
Mobile customers 3,817 4,142 2,860
Mobile ARPU (euros per year) 97 109 136
6
Source: Orange
Orange owns an 85% interest in Orange Côte d’Ivoire(CIT),
which began operating its network in 1996 under the Ivoiris
brand, and a 45.90% interest in Côte d’Ivoire Télécom (CIT),
Ivory Coast’s incumbent telecommunications operator, which
supplies fi xed-line telephony services, as well as broadband
and wholesale services.
Since May 2002, Orange Côte d’Ivoire has operated under
the Orange brand in Ivory Coast. Its strategy is to develop
integrated offers and convergent services, based on growth in
multi-equipment.
Orange Côte d’Ivoire also pursued its growth in rural areas in
2009, with an ambitious program of extensions to its mobile
coverage: 1,050 sites as of end 2009, 210 of which were
installed in 2009.
Côte d’Ivoire Télécom had more than 47,000 Internet customers
as of end 2009. Growth in customers slowed in 2009 because
of a high churn rate early in the year, due to major recruitment
campaigns late in 2008, making customer retention a major
challenge. Work done to segment the range and improve the IT
system nevertheless helped reduce the churn rate signifi cantly
in the second half of 2009, and at the same time enabled new
offers to be brought to the market.
Côte d’Ivoire Télécom operated more than 284,000 fi xed
lines as of end 2009, a stagnation (+1.8%) attributable to the
competition created by the development of mobile telephony.
Offers
In May 2009, Orange Côte d’Ivoire launched a range of mobile
offers segmented in four categories, more suited to meet
customer needs:
■ a basic offer with a fl at rate targeting fi rst-time users;
■ a family offer with very attractive prices for intra-network
communications and calls to favorite numbers, to foster
customer loyalty;
■ an offer aimed at young people, with a 50% reduction on
SMS and value-added services, as well as unlimited SMS
after 10.00 pm;
■ a premium monthly subscription with international calls at
national prices and a program for changing handset.
Orange Côte d’Ivoire also offers its customers an abundance
offer enabling them to benefi t from free calling minutes. Pressing
ahead with its efforts on innovation, Orange Côte d’Ivoire has
launched a mobile payment solution, Orange Money, which is
a response to the underbanking in the country . Lastly, a 7,117
school service is also available, enabling parents to monitor
their children’s school results by SMS (grades, attendance, fi nal
grades). Schools are stakeholders in the scheme and get part
of the revenues it generates. Education being a priority, this
innovative service has received a warm welcome from schools
and parents alike.
2009 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT / FRANCE TELECOM
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