Orange UK

Orange UK was a mobile network operator and internet service provider in the United Kingdom, launched in 1994. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was purchased by France Télécom (now Orange S.A.) in 2000, which then adopted the Orange brand for all its other mobile communications activities. Orange UK merged with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile UK to form a joint venture, EE in 2010. EE continued to operate the Orange brand until February 2015, when new connections and upgrades on Orange tariffs were withdrawn. Existing Orange customers could continue on their plans until March 2019. The inception of the Orange brand occurred in 1990 in the United Kingdom with the formation of Microtel Communications Ltd, a consortium initially formed by Pactel Corporation (American), British Aerospace, Millicom and Matra (French); and later wholly owned by BAe. In July 1991, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, through a stock swap deal with BAe, acquired a controlling stake of 65% in Microtel, who by then had won a license to develop a personal communications network in the United Kingdom. As part of the deal, BAe gained a 30% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications (UK) Ltd. Hutchison renamed Microtel to Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd on 28 March 1994; and on 28 April 1994, the Orange 1800 MHz GSM network was launched. The Orange brand, at the time an unusual name for a telecommunications firm, was created by a team at Microtel led by Chris Moss (marketing director) and supported by Martin Keogh, Rob Furness and Ian Pond. The brand consultancy Wolff Olins was charged with designing the brand values and logo, and advertising agency WCRS created the slogan "The future's bright, the future's Orange". The team that launched Orange in the UK was led by Malcolm Way, and later Hans Snook who became the chief executive. A holding company structure was adopted in 1995 with the establishment of Orange plc. In April 1996, Orange went public and floated on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, majority owned by Hutchison (48.