France-based global telco Orange announced the launch of its brand in Liberia in West Africa, so that effective immediately, Cellcom Liberia becomes Orange Liberia, expanding the group's presence in the region.
The re-branding follows the acquisition by Orange of the Liberian operator Cellcom, which was implemented through its subsidiary Orange Côte d’Ivoire and completed in early April 2016.
Orange noted that, in line with its Essentials2020 strategic program, it is focused on building up its presence in the West Africa region as a strategic priority for the group's development, based on the anticipated significant growth potential the region offers.
Following the re-branding, Orange Liberia becomes part of a major international telecoms group. Orange noted that it will provide marketing expertise and technical capabilities to help strengthen the operator's established network and enhance customer service in Liberia.
Orange Liberia served more than 1.6 million customers as of the end of February 2017, making it the leading mobile operator in the country in terms of subscribers. Founded in 2004, the mobile operator was the first in Liberia to launch 3G (HSPA+) services in 2012, followed by the launch of 4G LTE services in 2016. Orange plans to continue to invest in the development of its network to bolster the operator's position as market leader.Orange noted that, with a population of 4.6 million and a relatively low mobile penetration rate of 70% of the population, Liberia offers growth potential. To support this development, the Orange intends to enhance the quality of access by investing in network expansion. Specifically, it added 39 sites in 2016 and plans to add a further 65 sites in 2017 as part of efforts to accelerate broadband deployment and expand 4G penetration across the country.
In addition, the company aims to enhance Internet quality in Liberia by providing access to Orange Group's submarine and international cable networks in the region. This will provide Orange Liberia with access to two additional connection points, in Abidjan and Paris, that are expected to increase network capacity four-fold.
Orange has a present in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East, where it serves a total of over 120 million customers. Orange Money, the company's money transfer and mobile financial services offering, is available in 17 countries with more than 31 million customers.
