Deux hommes installent une antenne 5G

Published on 01 September 2020, updated on 20 November 2023

Our telecoms networks, vital for modern living

Our lives have been transformed as a result of network access. Most people around the world have mobile coverage, and half are now online. This revolution is made possible by high-tech telecommunications networks, whether undersea or up in space, that help us to exchange ever more information, faster and more easily. Managing them has always been Orange’s core business.

What is the role of a network operator?

Making a phone call. Sending an email. Watching a video. Liking a post. Gaming or shopping online. Joining a remote video meeting. At home, at work or on the move… all of these things are such a natural part of our everyday lives that we no longer even question how they’re made possible. This apparent simplicity, however, conceals the complex role of operators such as Orange. They are constantly designing, deploying, operating, maintaining and modernising the multiple infrastructures necessary to support our communications and transport our data from one end of the world to the other. The aim is to do so in the most fluid, fast and secure way possible.

A global network leader

Orange is one of the main global telecommunications network operators offering connectivity services to individuals, businesses and operators (telecom operators, internet players and content providers). We use our own infrastructure and employ millions of kilometres of optical fibre and copper cables, hundreds of thousands of items of equipment, tens of thousands of antennas and, to manage it all, thousands of technical sites and data centres.

We offer mobile network access in 26 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while our business IP networks cover most 200 countries and territories worldwide. We also contribute to the ‘information superhighway’ through a vast international carrier network and 450,000 kilometres of submarine cables, which we operate on our own or with partners.

To make digital technology accessible to all, we promote connectivity for everyone via secure, high-performance and responsible networks.

Networks, central to our strategy

Networks are the cornerstone of our innovation and a core pillar of our strategy. Around 34,000 Orange employees around the world are dedicated to their design, deployment, supervision, maintenance and modernisation. Each year we apportion almost two thirds of our investments to networks (excluding the purchase of frequency licences) to offer our customers the best possible coverage and speed. 

Result: we are now the european leader in very-high-speed broadband with more than 50 million homes connectable to optical fibre around the world at the end of 2021.

Find out more about broadband connectivity in France.

Reinventing our operator model, a key strategic ambition

We have placed networks firmly at the heart of our strategic plan. Our objective is to reinvent our operator model by offering increased and responsible connectivity to individual customers, companies and operators, while strengthening our leadership through more open, optimised and higher-valued infrastructures.

Lead the future: our strategic plan