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Virgin and Carphone Warehouse off to France
Virtual operator deal
Mon 24 Oct 2005 //
11:14 UTC
Virgin and Carphone Warehouse have confirmed to the Stock Exchange that they are talking about a possible joint venture in France.
A statement was released this morning and more information is expected soon. The joint venture will be branded as Virgin.
The two firms are setting up as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator - using someone else's network to offer branded services. The two are talking to Orange about using its network. The French government is keen to promote MVNOs to encourage competition.
Carphone has 200 stores in France and an existing mobile offering called Omer.
Virgin and Carphone are already virtual operators in the UK and both use T-Mobile's network.®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
