France Telecom (FT) plans to blow more than €1bn installing its kit in incumbent telcos' telephone exchanges so it can provide broadband services direct to customers.

Some of that cash is to be spent in the UK but FT is also eyeing up other European countries for further investment in local loop unbundling (LLU), reports The Business.

FT - which owns ISP Wanadoo UK - reckons up to two thirds of its 2.2m punters could eventually be unhooked from BT's network as part of its ambitious plans.

Indeed, the telco is already making a move on the UK's telecoms sector by respraying Wanadoo - which used to be known as Freeserve - "Orange" and hooking it up with its mobile division.

From next year FT-owned Orange will be offering punters bundled mobile, broadband, fixed line and a rack of other services and all from the same brightly coloured brand.

Orange has already teamed up with sibling Wanadoo UK to offer its new punters 2 meg broadband for £9.99 a month.

While Wanadoo is trialling LLU in Leeds as part of its "substantial and significant" investment in new innovative services. ®

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• France Telecom to axe 22,000 jobs (14 February 2006)
• France Telecom warns of sales slowdown (12 January 2006)
• UK top Euro broadband nation, say analysts (3 January 2006)
• Orange unveils new 'Calling Tunes' service (2 December 2005)
• French cellcos fined €534m for collusion (1 December 2005)
• France Telecom fined €80m in broadband access row (9 November 2005)
• Easynet ISP cranks broadband to 22 meg (9 November 2005)
• Carphone confirms local loop plans (3 November 2005)
• BT and Sky to scrap joint marketing deal (21 October 2005)
• Murdoch gets Easynet (21 October 2005)
• Analysis BT waking up to unbundling threat (19 October 2005)
• Bulldog mauls BT over 'disappointing' BB unbundling (17 October 2005)
• Murdoch closes in on Easynet (17 October 2005)
• LLU falters in UK (14 October 2005)
• PlusNet buys into LLU (14 October 2005)
• Edge Telecom buys Trilogy from administrators (22 September 2005)
• Broadband set to smash 200m barrier (21 September 2005)
• Competition to drive down telecoms costs (20 September 2005)
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