France Telecom to Shift to "Orange" as Retail Brand

France Telecom is finally poised to become plain "Orange," a brand which could gain increasingly broad global recognition as the telco pushes into emerging markets.

The move illustrates one facet of how the global telecom business has changed in recent decades, with most "national" telecom companies being compelled to look for growth outside their original service territories.

At a more local level, the same process has affected small rural telcos and competitive local exchange carriers, all of whom have had to consider growing footprint outside original service areas to fuel growth.

France Telecom aims to transition all its businesses to the Orange brand, currently used for its mobile and triple play activities, within the next 12 months.

France Telecom becomes just 'Orange'