FT to cover 98% of French households with Orange TV

France Telecom (FT) says 98.3% of French households will be able to enjoy its Orange TV service from 3 July, which is being offered as part of the telco’s deployment of triple-play services on the mainland. The operator says it has signed agreements with Eutelsat to enable it to extend coverage of Orange TV; until now, only 50% of French households have been able to take the service via the incumbent’s ADSL networks. The tie-up with a satellite services provider increases this to virtually all the country using two orbital positions for Eutelsat HOT BIRD and ATLANTIC BIRD 3 (broadcasting from 13° East and 5° West). From 3 July subscribers will be able to sign up to the Orange triple-play offer from EUR29.90 (USD46.6) per month.