The DR1 erroneously carried yesterday details on one of the Orange mobile phone plans yesterday. Antonio Esteban of Orange (France Telecom) corrects the information indicating that the plan that provides an activated mobile phone for RD$490, requires a monthly rent of RD$195 and includes 30 minutes, not 60 minutes, and additional minutes cost RD$4.00. The company has several plans from which to choose from (Max, Flex, Orange Card), depending on user needs. He highlights that Orange is the telecom company offering the most advanced technology on the market, Global System for Mobile (http://www.gsmworld.com/index1.html). Orange is the newcomer to the telecom market in the DR, but its aggressiveness has Dominicans quickly become familiar with it. Orange seeks to lure 200,000 mobile phone users in its first year. Local estimates indicate there are approximately 600,000 cellular users in the DR. In an interview with El Siglo, Raoul Fontanez, president of the company, and Antonio Esteban, manager of corporate markets for the company, announced that as of August 2001 the company will bring to the DR mobile Internet access. The service is set to be launched worldwide in Japan in early 2001. The world’s most advanced wireless communication standard, known as 3rd Generation Systems, will also offer the possibility of video on demand, high speed multimedia in addition to mobile Internet access. Esteban explained that users will be able to access the Internet from their mobile phone or using a laptop equipped with GSM technology. The 3rd Generation Systems are expected to bridge the gap between the wireless world and the computing/Internet world, making inter-operation apparently seamless.
