Orange U.K. set to play in IPTV market with T-Mobile as 'Everything Everywhere'

Mobile operator Orange UK is taking another swing at IPTV service after its deal with BT last month gave it access to the high-speed broadband network the telco operator is in the midst of building out across the U.K.

Orange originally planned to extend its Orange TV offering, which has been running in France for several years, to the U.K. in 2007, but canned the idea before consumers had a chance to see it. But the company, which after last month's merger with T-Mobile's U.K. business plans expanded its customer base to 30 million subscribers, obviously feels it now has the density to make an IPTV play pan out.

It says it will use BT's line for the offering, but has no immediate timetable for a launch.

Orange and T-Mobile are planning to combine their merged companies under the corporate name "Everything Everywhere," and say they will establish the largest communications provider in the U.K. Both companies will continue to trade under their current names for the next 18 months.

The move into the IPTV space will be a tough one, even for a company with the resources the merger brings to bear, but it will better position the company to compete in a crowded bundled-services space with the likes of BT, Virgin Media and BSkyB. Currently, only Virgin Media offers a quadplay.

For more:
- see this Times report

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