Orange becomes the first operator to launch joyn services in France
Mobile operator Orange has become the first operator to launch joyn services in France, giving customers access to a fully interoperable rich communications service (RCS), enabling them to chat and make file transfers during calls.
joyn is changing the way people communicate and offers customers the opportunity to participate in chats, send files and share simultaneous images or videos in a private and secure manner, regardless of the network or device, claimed Orange.
joyn is currently live in nine countries including Spain, Germany and the US and is supported by 14 operators including Orange, Vodafone, Movistar and MetroPCS. A further 27 operators in 17 countries have committed to launching the services in the near future, and it is expected that mobile operators will take in a cumulative $1.6 billion from RCS service fees between 2012 to 2016, according to Infonetics Research.
Identified by a joyn logo alongside the contact listing, users can detect at a glance their own contacts that are currently using joyn.
Orange customers in France can access joyn services by downloading the 'joyn by Orange' app directly onto their mobile device from the AppStore and Google Play. Later this year customers in France will be able to use joyn services natively on their mobile phones.
Orange customers using Sony Xperia Z, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 will be able to buy these devices with joyn services built into the phones and from 2014, joyn will be available across the majority of Android and Window handsets currently available to consumers in France.
The industry has seen a great deal of momentum around joyn in the last few months, noted Orange. Last week T-Mobile announced that joyn will become available in the Netherlands later this year.
Graham Trickey, senior projects director at the GSMA, commented: 'The GSMA is delighted with this announcement that joyn services will now be available to Orange customers in France. They will join a growing community of mobile phone users who are already enjoying the easy access, rich services that joyn offers. Orange has been a strong supporter of RCS from the start of the programme and its experience as one of the three operators in Spain who launched the world's first interoperable joyn solution towards the end of 2012 will certainly contribute to the success of the service in France.'
