German start up operator gets access to French giant
1&1 and Orange have agreed to provide international roaming services through the 1&1 mobile network, which is Europe’s first fully virtualised mobile network based on OpenRAN technology. Germany’s challenger mobile operator 1&1 will give its customers reliable mobile services when they travel abroad, said Orange.
Under the terms of the pact 1&1 customers will get access to all international roaming services based on Orange’s worldwide roaming footprint. The services use Orange’s state-of-the-art systems, including 5G and voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE). By using Orange, 1&1 benefits from a one-stop shop roaming experience, given that it’s one of the world’s biggest mobile operator groups. Orange said it will give 1&1 an immediate roaming coverage and a completely customised roaming system providing a large array of value-added services and anti-fraud solutions.
“By joining forces with Orange, we have gained a strong and well experienced partner for international roaming that will enable us to automatically offer to our customers excellent network performance even when they are abroad,” said Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1 AG. “The 1&1 OpenRAN will launch its broadband services for the home at the end of this year, followed by the mobile services in the summer of 2023. All roaming services will be available as of this point.”
“This partnership will benefit 11 from our customised and innovative roaming model for mobile operators,” said Michaël Trabbia, interim CEO Wholesale & International Networks of Orange says.