Orange launched on Moldova’s market

“Voxtel” and “Tempo” became “Orange” on Wednesday, April 25. Although the administration of the company announced that the re-branding would cut the charges in half and would make the extra-network calls 40% cheaper, the prices for Moldova remain higher compared with the prices of “Orange” in the neighbour countries. Director-General of “Voxtel” Bruno Duthoit told a news conference that several years ago when “Orange” launched its services on the Romanian market, the prices were a bit higher compared with the charges established at present for Moldova. The price policy is adjusted depending on the penetration rate of the mobile telephony on the market, which is still small in Moldova – about 40%, Duthoit said. The launch of “Orange” brings along a mobile TV service. At first, the packages will include four TV channels – Muz TV Moldova, National TV, Senso TV and UTV (the last three from Romania). Later, the representatives of “Voxtel” say they will diversify the service. The highest price for watching TV on the cell phone will be USD 0.20/min. The re-branding decision was made on April 19, 2006 by the shareholders of the company, and the process related to the improvement of the organisational structure, modification of activity processes and procedures within the company for shifting to Orange, lasted from September 2006 until now. According to the General-Director of “Voxtel” company, Bruno Duthoit, the adjustment to the standards of “Orange” means better quality services, including a better coverage and better relations with the customers. At the same time, the network of dealers and stores was changed during the re-branding process. According to Bruno Duthoit, the shift to “Orange” had a cost of about USD 2 mln, and by the end of this year, the investments in the development will amount to USD 25 mln. At the same time, in the next 5 years, the investments will increase up to USD 80 mln. “Orange” is the brand of France Telecom, is one of the world leaders of mobile communications industry, being chosen by over 104 mln cell phone users in more than 220 countries. “Voxtel” Company was the first mobile telephony company launched in Moldova (1998). “Voxtel” and “Tempo” have at present over 925 thousand customers and users.