CAIRO: France Telecom Group will inaugurate the company's Technology Innovation Center - dubbed the Orange Lab - in the Smart Village on Jan. 3, 2008. Chairman and CEO of France Telecom Group Didier Lombard will visit Egypt in January to inaugurate the project, which is worth 8.9 million euros in investments. "The center's research operations will be based on three concepts that include the relationship between humans and machines, dealing with the market in Arabic and smart payment methods on mobile phones, which are linked to wireless technologies, said Hazem Abdel-Azim, chairman of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), on Tuesday. Aiming to increase foreign investment in the IT domain, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), is supporting the project by offering the company a venue at the Smart Village free of charge, as well as providing training at the center, Abdel-Azim said. "The cooperation between MCIT and Orange Business Services also encompasses implementing training programs on ICT skills tailored to the needs of companies exporting ICT products and services, he added. "The creation of the Cairo Orange Lab will allow France Telecom Group to expand its presence in Egypt, a country where it has already been present since 1998 through Mobinil and Orange Business Services. France Telecom is the main shareholder of Mobinil, which is the first mobile operator in Egypt with 14 million customers, France Telecom Group said in a statement. The new center is considered the first of its kind in the Middle East specialized in research and development, and is the group's 18th Orange Lab in the world. It is expected to employ around 60 Egyptian engineers at first and more after it commences operations. France Telecom serves more than 167 million customers in five continents, two-thirds of which are Orange customers. In 2006, Orange became the group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in most of the countries in which it operates. Orange Business Services is the brand name for services offered to businesses worldwide. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif witnessed the signing of the third cooperation agreement between the MCIT and France Telecom's Orange last April. The move is in line with France Telecom's future plans in Egypt, which entail investing more than $20 million annually in value-added services. Bilateral cooperation started early in 2004 with an agreement to establish an Orange Business Service center in Egypt. More than 500 new Egyptian engineers were hired in the center as part of the company's expansion plans in Egypt, raising the total number of Egyptians working for the company to 1,500. Orange Business Services represents the business communications solutions and services provided by France Telecom Group. They include converged voice, data and mobile services as well as IT expertise and managed services, all designed to transform business processes and improve productivity. Orange Business Services are present in 166 countries and territories. Cairo's center is one of the largest Orange Business Service centers worldwide.
