Orange Belgium taps Zappware to launch live mobile TV

Orange Belgium has launched live mobile TV as part of its convergent Love offering.

Orange Love customers can now view live TV services on their smartphones and tablets via the Orange TV app, following a trial period.

The app includes an enlarged TV guide, the ability set recordings on the TV set-top remotely, the ability to select channels and recordings for viewing on the TV and the ability to search for programmes.

Channels available on the mobile service include La Une, La Deux, RTL-TVI, Club RTL, TF1, TF1, AB3, 13e Rue, SyFy, Disney Channel France, Disney XD France, één, Canvas, VTM, Q2, Vier, Vijf, National Geographic in Dutch, Discovery Dutch, Ketnet and Disney Channel Dutch.

The channels are available to iOS and Android devices via Love WiFi in the home or via 3G and 4G mobile in Belgium and throughout the EU. Subscribers are able to watch live TV on a up to five connected devices simultaneously.

The app can be downloaded via the Apple App Store or Google Play

Orange Belgium has tapped existing technology supplier Zappware to provide the back office infrastructure for live TV across Android and iOS devices for its Love TV service.

“We are happy to add mobile live TV to the Love offering. This new functionality will allow our customers to watch TV on the go. In particular with the summer holidays coming up, customers can continue to enjoy live TV when travelling in the EU, as the EU roaming regulation applies. This is our way of responding to our customers’ needs. We will continue to enrich our offers, add premium content and strive to have the best quality at a fair price, to make sure our customers can stay connected anywhere, any time with complete peace of mind. We are delighted to rely on our technology partner Zappware to support these enriched features,” said Cristina Zanchi, chief consumer officer at Orange Belgium.

“The extension for Zappware enables us to serve Orange Belgium with a true unified multiscreen user experience, managed through a unified Zappware back office. That is obviously an extra business opportunity for Zappware in our home market. With the end-user in mind, which is the DNA of Zappware, even more relevant is the enriched value proposition for the end-users of Orange Belgium: a seamless video experience on any device in any location,” said Patrick Vos, CEO of Zappware.

Separately, Orange Belgium has added fixed phone to its Love offering. The operators said that adding fixed phone was appealing to small enterprises and home workers, 75% of which consider a fixed line to be indispensable.

The IP-based fixed phone service is available for €10 a month, including unlimited calls to fixed and mobile numbers in Belgium and 40 other countries.

Love currently has 122,000 subscribers. The expanded Love Unlimited offering, which includes unlimited data with roaming and a large offering of TV channels, is available for €79.