BT and Orange Business Services Collaborate to Extend Telepresence Connectivity

QUINCY, Mass., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BT and Orange Business Services have signed an agreement for a global commercial service to allow each other's video exchange customers to participate in telepresence meetings with one another. By working together, BT and Orange will help telepresence users reach more partners, suppliers, customers and business prospects at public and private end-points across their networks.

The collaboration is a significant industry advance towards establishing a smooth, end-to-end telepresence experience and has been successfully trialed with existing major global enterprise customers. The service is now available to all BT and Orange Telepresence Community customers, using Cisco TelePresence™ equipment.

BT and Orange are committed to implementing inter-exchange services to make it easier for customers to communicate via video regardless of network or exchange. Today's announcement strengthens this objective and sees both Orange and BT proactively expanding their exchange services to enlarge the global telepresence community.

The agreement between BT and Orange will facilitate real-time, virtual meetings around the world. A directory helps customers see which organizations are registered and what locations are available through the inter-provider connection. This allows any Cisco TelePresence customer of BT's Global Video Exchange or Orange Business Services Telepresence Community to invite each other's clients to join them in multipoint telepresence meetings.

Rich Lowe, CEO of BT Conferencing, said: "This agreement is the latest addition to the expansion of the video industry's connectivity capabilities and is an important step forward. It demonstrates our commitment to increasing the network of accessible telepresence locations for our customers and increasing the return on their investments."

Andrew McFadzen, head of International Network Solutions at Orange Business Services, said: "The broader the range of companies that customers can connect with through telepresence, the higher the return on investment in collaborative technology. Replacing face-to-face meetings with telepresence doesn't only reduce travel time and the expense of face-to-face meetings, but also speeds up decision-making, increases productivity, and enhances cross-organizational collaboration that might not exist without virtual meetings."

Customers can use the intercompany service by contacting their respective service provider. They will be given the necessary conferencing information to share with the other meeting participants so they too can join the meeting. Customers will maintain their existing commercial relationship with their service provider.

All BT news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News

About BT

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

In the year ended 31 March 2011, BT Group's revenue was 20,076m pounds Sterling with profit before taxation of 1,717m pounds.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.btplc.com.

About Orange Business Services

Orange Business Services, the France Telecom-Orange branch dedicated to B2B services, is a leading global integrator of communications solutions for multinational corporations. With the world's largest, seamless network for voice and data, Orange Business Services reaches 220 countries and territories with local support in 166. Offering a comprehensive package of communication services covering cloud computing, enterprise mobility, M2M, security, unified communications, videoconferencing, and broadband, Orange Business Services delivers a best-in-class customer experience across a global landscape. Thousands of enterprise customers and 1.4 million mobile data users rely on an Orange Business Services international platform for communicating and conducting business. Orange Business Services is a four-time winner of Best Global Operator at the World Communication Awards. Learn more at www.orange-business.com.

France Telecom-Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with 170,000 employees worldwide and sales of 33.8 billion euros in the first nine months of 2011. Orange is the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.

SOURCE BT