French WiFi specialist Wifirst has signed a contract to provide wireless broadband services to 12 high-end hotels owned by the Lucien Barriere Groupe, following a similar agreement with hotel chain Accor in May.Hotels are increasingly turning to smaller specialist companies to build and operate broadband networks because of the challenges of connecting hundreds of rooms while ensuring security and reliable download speeds.Large telecom operators have not traditionally focused on such WiFi networks, preferring to invest in the higher margin business of selling mobile plans to consumers and companies. Wifirst snagged the Lucien Barriere contract in place of Switzerland's largest telecom group Swisscom. At Accor, it replaced French leader Orange to connect 200 hotels under the Novotel, Mercure, and Pullman brands."We now have critical mass after having invested some 40 million euros to build a WiFi network to cover France," said Marc Taieb, a co-founder of WiFirst and head of Bollore Telecom.
Orange SA, formerly France Telecom SA, is a France-based company that is engaged, principally, in the provision of integrated telecommunications services. Shares of ORAN fell by 1.49% or $-0.24/share to $15.91. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $11.65 and as high as $17.43. On average, 521235 shares of ORAN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 283299.
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