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The strategic partnership will allow Orange Business Services (OBS) to reach a wide range of customers, as well as working with Open Fiber in the development of smart cities
Friday saw OBS officially enter the Italian market through a strategic partnership with Italian broadband company Open Fiber. The deal will see the digital service arm of the French operator gain access to Open Fiber’s fibre-to-the-home network, which it claims is the third largest in Europe.
Through this partnership, OBS will be able to offer a wide range of digital applications, including cloud and IoT services, as well as data analytics and management platforms.
"The innovative and highly advanced offer of Orange Business Services finds its ideal partner in the Open Fiber project,” said Francesca Puggioni, managing director of southern Europe for OBS. “The changing the scenario of high-speed connectivity in Italy is essential for the development of value-added services. Our strategic plan, Engage2025, is guided by the desire to support national and international companies with a co-innovation model, in order to develop innovative digital services for the benefit of business, employees and whole community, in line with the Corporate Social Responsibility strategy at the heart of our corporate identity."
The partnership also has a focus on developing smart cities, exploring connected street and traffic lights, parking spaces and CCTV. OBS applications connected to this city infrastructure will help measure things like population density and air quality, with the ultimate goal being to improve public health and welfare.
"Having reliable indicators available allows, for example, the reduction of traffic through applications that can identify available parking spaces in real time, or limit the congestion of public transport during peak hours by controlling the density of passengers. Furthermore, Public safety monitoring applications can help protect city dwellers in areas at risk or where there is a greater influx of people," read the announcement.
OBS is not the only company looking to make use of Open Fiber’s massive broadband reach. In recent months, French mobile operator Iliad has reportedly been in discussion with the Italian broadband operator, with the latest reports from Reuters at the start of this month suggesting a deal was just around the corner.
“Open Fiber and Iliad have been talking for several months and an agreement now looks close,” said one of their sources.
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