The outside world mostly knows Orange as a mobile operator, even though it offers one of the most powerful and high performance fixed networks in Belgium. Orange uses this fixed network to offer fixed solutions for the business market and for larger organisations in particular.
"To be a strong mobile operator, you now have to have a strong fixed network," says Audrey Hanquet, Director of B2B Fixed Solutions at Orange. "Years ago, back when Orange was still known in Belgium as Mobistar, we took over the business interests of KPN, it strengthened our focus in the area."
The fixed network is undergoing quite a transformation. "We are stepping away from old technologies such as ATM and TDM. The move towards a full IP network has begun," says Audrey Hanquet. "This allows us to drastically reduce the complexity involved in managing our network. With these investments, we are primarily supporting mobile solutions. Clients can be connected wherever and whenever they need to be," she adds. "Bandwidth is also taking off. While we used to talk about speeds of 2 megabytes per second, we now talk about 1 gigabyte per second per client," she says. "With the switch to IP and the higher bandwidth, we can very quickly make new IP services, such as IP telephony, the Internet of Things and video surveillance realistic possibilities for our clients."
Audrey Hanquet emphasises that clients will not be put out by the operations for the technological renewals. "The impact will be minimal," she says. "Furthermore, the intention is that we use this new network to respond to the needs of the client. The client user experience is of crucial importance for us."
The network range for companies at Orange is part of the Fix Corporate portfolio. "Here we are talking about the building stones with which the client can put together their own tailor-made solution," she states. "The focus within Fix Corporate is fixed network services. The convergence between fixed and mobile is also especially important. For example, an IP VPN with mobile backup combines the two."
The evolution within the Fix Corporate portfolio extends to IP network services. Orange has used them to further solidify the adjustments to their network and the range offered to clients. "We have considerably added to these services over the past two years," says Hanquet. As an example, she points to the efficiency and flexibility that IP telephony offers. "We will continue travelling along the road of these all IP services. It’s completely possible thanks to our high-performance fixed network."
Would you like to know more about Orange Fix Corporate? Get in touch with your account manager or click on the link to take a closer look at this page on Orange Fix Corporate.