Orange and La Poste partner to give a second life to network equipment used during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

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Orange and La Poste partner to give a second life to network equipment used during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

2024-12-09 17:01 Last Updated At：17:10

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 9, 2024--

Orange and La Poste announce the first innovative initiative to extend the lifespan of network equipment used during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This collaboration aligns with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies of both companies, aimed at minimising the environmental impact of digital technology. It is also a key aspect of the Paris 2024 legacy, which focuses on repurposing equipment for other sites and uses after the Olympic Games.

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A large-scale, responsible approach
Several thousand Wi-Fi terminals and other advanced telecom equipment used at the Olympic and Paralympic sites will be reused by La Poste at key locations in Paris and other local communities. For instance, the Maison de l’Innovation in Nantes, set to house over 800 IT professionals from La Poste, will benefit from this next-generation equipment. These devices have been used for only a short period of time and have been thoroughly verified to ensure performance, availability, and durability.

These modern devices will improve the network’s operational efficiency for La Poste employees, providing better connectivity and a high level of service both indoors and outdoors. The integration of this equipment will also play a crucial role in supporting digitalisation and new uses, facilitating smoother operations of IT tools.

Shared ambitious commitments
Orange and La Poste share a common vision and are actively committed to adopting more responsible and sustainable practices. The initiative to extend the lifespan of telecom equipment has already been successfully implemented on Orange infrastructure for La Poste. This latest initiative demonstrates the commitment of both companies to accelerate their CSR objectives and raise awareness within the ecosystem to reduce carbon footprints and make informed choices.

Orange and La Poste share the same net-zero carbon goal by 2040. Both companies have established more responsible practices to purchase circuits, particularly in IT environments. Orange offers eco-designed products and second-hand network equipment to its consumer and business customers. Meanwhile, La Poste, as a mission-driven company, is committed to ethical, inclusive, and economical digital practices. It has also adopted a responsible digital policy aimed at optimising the use of natural and non-renewable resources. This policy focuses on extending the lifespan of its IT equipment through repair and reuse.

“In the face of scarce resources and the increasing digitalisation of services, La Poste Group is committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its tools and applications. The reuse of network equipment deployed by Orange for the Olympic Games is an opportunity that perfectly aligns with our desire to promote responsible digital practices,” says Philippe Bajou, Secretary General of the La Poste Group and President of La Poste Group Immobilier.

“The Olympic Games Paris 2024 have been a unique opportunity to showcase our technical expertise and a true demonstration of the solutions offered to our business clients. I am proud that this top-quality equipment finds a second life with La Poste. This partnership illustrates our commitment to a sustainable and connected future. At Orange Business, we are dedicated to helping our clients and partners in their environmental transition and reducing their carbon footprint,” adds Aliette Mousnier-Lompré, CEO of Orange Business.

About Orange
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with revenues of 39.7 billion euros in 2023 and 128,000 employees worldwide at 30 September 2024, including 71,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 292 million customers worldwide at 30 September 2024, including 253 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. These figures have been restated to account for the deconsolidation of certain activities in Spain following the creation of MASORANGE. The Group is present in 26 countries (including non-consolidated countries).

Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business. In February 2023, the Group presented its strategic plan "Lead the Future", built on a new business model and guided by responsibility and efficiency. "Lead the Future" capitalizes on network excellence to reinforce Orange's leadership in service quality.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com and the Orange News app or to follow us on X: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

About La Poste Group
La Poste is a public limited company, a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts and the State. The La Poste Group is organized into four branches: Mail and Parcel Services, Public and Digital Services, Geopost, and La Banque Postale, which, along with its subsidiary CNP Assurances, is the 11th largest bancassurer in the Eurozone. The La Poste Group carries out four public service missions that shape its identity: universal postal service, regional development, banking accessibility, and the transport and distribution of the press. Committed to its territorial presence, the La Poste Group relies on its extensive network of human and digital proximity services, the largest in France. This network consists of 37,300 service points, including 17,700 contact points (post offices, municipal postal agencies, merchant post relay points) and nearly 19,600 access points for postal services (Pickup relays and lockers, Professional Spaces). La Poste delivers over 15 billion items worldwide each year (letters, advertising mail, and parcels), six days a week. In 2023, the group achieved a revenue of €34.1 billion, with 44% coming from international operations, and employs 233,000 employees in more than 60 countries across five continents, including over 179,000 in France. As part of its strategic plan "La Poste 2030, committed to you," the public company aims for profitable and responsible growth in France and internationally, relying on a robust multi-activity model. A mission-driven company since 2021, a leader in ecological transition and sustainable finance, the group aims for "net zero emissions" by 2040.

Britain announces more support for Ukraine's fight against Russia as Kyiv's Western backers meet

2025-04-11 17:07 Last Updated At：17:11

BRUSSELS (AP) — Britain on Friday announced a “surge” of military support to Ukraine, as the war-ravaged country’s Western backers gathered to drum up more weapons and ammunition to fight off Russia's invasion and a U.S. envoy flew to Moscow amid ongoing ceasefire efforts.

Britain said that in a joint effort with Norway just over $580 million would be spent to provide hundreds of thousands of military drones, radar systems and anti-tank mines, as well as repair and maintenance contracts to keep Ukrainian armored vehicles on the battlefield.

On the eve of the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said a key issue was strengthening his country’s air defenses. “Ukraine needs a sufficient number of modern systems like Patriot” missile systems, he said in a post on social media.

“A political decision is needed to supply these systems to protect our cities, towns, and the lives of our people — especially from the threat of Russian ballistic weapons. Our partners have such available systems,” Umerov said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his appeals for more Patriot systems since 20 people were killed a week ago, including nine children, when a Russian missile tore through apartment buildings and blasted a playground in his home town.

“Ukraine needs at the very least 10 systems that are sufficiently effective specifically against Russian ballistic missiles, and this is where Patriots are second to none,” he said on his Telegram channel ahead of the meeting. "We are counting on decisions.”

Zelenskyy joined Friday's meeting by video link.

Russian forces hold the advantage in Ukraine, with the war now in its fourth year. Ukraine has endorsed a U.S. ceasefire proposal, but Russia has effectively blocked it by imposing far-reaching conditions.

The Russian delay in accepting Washington's proposal has frustrated U.S. President Donald Trump and fueled doubts about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin really wants to stop the fighting while his bigger army has momentum on the battlefield.

“Russia continues to use bilateral talks with the United States to delay negotiations about the war in Ukraine, suggesting that the Kremlin remains uninterested in serious peace negotiations to end the war,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment late Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was back in Moscow on Friday but he didn’t confirm whether he will meet with Putin. Witkoff has been pressing the Kremlin to accept a truce.

Washington remains committed to securing a peace deal, even though four weeks have passed since it made its ceasefire proposals, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

“It is a dynamic that will not be solved militarily. It is a meat grinder,” Bruce said Thursday about the war, adding that “nothing else can be discussed … until the shooting and the killing stops.”

Ukrainian officials and military analysts believe Russia is preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in coming weeks to ramp up pressure and strengthen the Kremlin’s hand in the negotiations.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country would provide Ukraine with four IRIS-T short- to medium-range systems with missiles, as well as 30 missiles for use on Patriot batteries. The Netherlands plans to supply a Hawkeye air defense system, an airborne early warning aircraft.

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that his country is monitoring the world armaments market and sees opportunities for Ukraine’s backers to buy more weapons and ammunition.

Pevkur said he believes Putin might try to reach some kind of settlement with Ukraine by May 9 — the day that Russia marks victory during World War II — making it even more vital to strengthen Kyiv’s position now.

“This is why we need to speed up the deliveries as quickly as we can,” he said.

Friday’s meeting is the 27th gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. It’s being chaired by Britain and Germany. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be absent from a forum that the United States created and led for several years, although he was due to take part via video.

Hegseth spent the first part of this week in Panama and returned to Washington on Wednesday night.

At the last contact group meeting in February, Hegseth warned Ukraine’s European backers that the U.S. now has priorities elsewhere — in Asia and on America’s own borders — and that they would have to take care of their own security, and that of Ukraine, in future.

Asked about the U.S. stepping back from its leadership role on Ukraine, Pistorius declined to comment, saying only that “it’s a decision of the new administration in Washington.”

“We are here to take over the lead,” he told reporters, “and we are willing and determined to do that with full responsibility and together with our allies.”

AP reporter Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this story.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine