Deep Dive for Orange Marine

PARIS -- France Telecom Marine, the fully-owned subsidiary of Orange specializing in submarine cable laying and maintenance for the telecommunications sector, is changing its name to Orange Marine.

The subsidiary has been using the Orange brand for all of its operations and interactions with customers all over the world since 1 July 2013. Three of its five cable ships are progressively being overhauled to reflect Orange’s visual identity. The other two vessels, which were acquired in 2010, will continue to operate under the brand Elettra for commercial reasons.

To reflect this name change, Orange Marine has opened a new website today at the address:
www.orange.com/OrangeMarine. The site provides descriptions of the subsidiary’s operations, fleet and key services, as well as details on its main areas of expertise.The name change for France Telecom Marine fits in with the overall strategy of its parent company, Orange. The Group is building on its brand to construct its image as a leading telecommunications company that operates at the cutting edge of innovation and that listens to its customers.

The Group has gradually simplified its identity in France and abroad since 2006 for its various internal and external contacts to present itself under a single brand. Orange Marine’s activities play an important role in the achievement of Orange's goals, which include democratizing network access throughout the world, thereby opening the door to the digital services, particularly to the internet, to as many people as possible. The subsidiary is one of the world's leading players in the installation and maintenance of submarine cables around the globe. Its ships are active primarily in the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and Northern Europe area, the African coasts, and the Indian Ocean.

Since its establishment, Orange Marine has laid 170,000 kilometres of cable in every ocean, the equivalent of more than four times the earth’s circumference. Its ships carry out an average of 50 operations a year, some of which are at depths of 8,500 meters.

Recently, Orange Marine announced its intention to expand its operations to cover submarine energy cables. It aims to become a leading player in the installation and maintenance of submarine cables connecting offshore wind turbines or hydropower platforms to terrestrial distribution networks. Orange Marine recently ordered a new cable ship, the Pierre de Fermat, which will be commissioned in the summer of 2014. This new vessel will not only be able to conduct operations on telecommunications cables, but it will also be optimized for operations involving submarine energy cables.

Orange