Orange positions itself as a real innovator. In 2017, the focus on practical innovation served essential needs of Orange customers.
In 2017 the company invested in the following practical innovations:
- SIM-centricity, leveraging the SIM card as a strategic and secure asset,
- The launch of the first national Internet-of-Things network in Belgium,
- The introduction of smart home services in Luxembourg,
- The launch of the Orange Fab accelerator programme,
- Various mobile services, such as the re-launch of a visual voicemail service for iPhone and the launch of visual voicemail for Android users.
Orange introduces handy visual voicemail service for Android users
In 2011, Orange was the first to offer a visual voicemail service for iPhone; and in December 2017, Orange Belgium became the 5th operator in the world to make this handy service available for all its customers, as it introduced visual voicemail to Android users.
Visual Voicemail is a service that allows voicemail message management directly on the smartphone. Voicemails appear as an audio recording, making it easy to listen to them and to go back, pause, fast forward or send on to others. All voicemails appear in a list that customers can easily manage. The customer sees who called him or her, when, and how long the voice message is. He can of course, call back the person who left the message, or reply by mail or SMS. The service is entirely free at Orange and can be used within the EU (it uses mobile data, free of charge at Orange). The messages remain accessible even without network access.
At the time 450,000 Orange customers with an iPhone use visual voicemail thanks to Orange. Now that Android users have access to this handy service, many more will follow.
Helping start-ups grow
On 1 September 2017, the exclusive international accelerator network ‘Orange Fab’ opened its doors to Belgian and Luxembourgian start-ups that are developing new products and innovative services − in sectors such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, mobile video content, networks, and more − that will change the way we live and work tomorrow.
Orange Fab’s main objective is to create a commercial partnership between the start-ups and the Business Units of Orange. Thanks to Orange Fab, the selected start-ups will be offered specific support to accelerate their development in Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as internationally, leveraging the worldwide presence of the Orange Group in 29 countries and with more than 250 million customers.
60 start-ups submitted an application to participate. In early November 2017, 20 start-ups presented their innovative products and services to a jury of professionals, who selected 10 for the final round. The winning start-ups − Communithings, Zembro and Charlie24 − will officially participate in this first season of Orange Fab in Belgium and Luxembourg. They blew the jury away with powerful speeches and strong arguments on how their innovative products and services can complete Orange’s portfolio. By entering the Orange Fab programme, they will now benefit from business acceleration in Belgium and Luxembourg with the support of amongst others, the sales, marketing and communication departments from mid-January until mid-April 2018.
An increasingly digital society
needs a digital ID - itsme
In 2016, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, KBC, Orange, Proximus and Telenet (together Belgian Mobile ID) signed a joint agreement to offer all Belgian citizens the most secure means of electronic identification currently available. Together they worked on a trusted mobile solution to make it easier for anyone with a mobile phone and a Belgian eID to digitally log in, register, confirm transactions and even sign documents.
In 2017, Belgian Mobile ID launched ‘itsme’: a single digital ID that can be used for all digital interactions: from logging on or signing up to various websites, to making secure payments and validating contracts, to booking a holiday. Orange customers can easily download the itsme application and use it on every platform that has integrated the app.
