French telecom giant Orange has unveiled plans to leverage its data center assets, positioning itself to take advantage of the growing global demand for data center infrastructure.
Speaking at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale, emphasized the strategic role of data centers in the company’s telecom infrastructure. He highlighted Orange’s commitment to retaining ownership of its network assets, even as other telecom operators have opted to sell off infrastructure such as towers and data centers.
Strategic Shift: Monetizing Data Center Assets
Trabbia explained that Orange’s tower subsidiary, Totem, has created new revenue opportunities by allowing third-party access to its towers. Now, the company is adopting a similar approach for its data centers.
“We’re experiencing big market growth in data centers. We have been building some assets for our own needs, for instance, in France and other countries as well,” he noted.
Orange currently owns 75 data centers across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, referring to them as the “network brain” of its operations. Unlike some of its competitors, Orange has no plans to sell off these assets, choosing instead to capitalize on the rising demand fueled by AI and digital transformation.
New Leadership to Drive Expansion
In line with this strategy, Orange has appointed Totem CEO Nicolas Roy to lead its data center business development unit. Trabbia emphasized that this move underlines the company’s renewed focus on expanding its data center footprint and colocation services.
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“We are looking to leverage the [data center] assets that we have. Our objective is not to sell these assets for cash, as we have no debt issues. Instead, we want to contribute to this market growth and meet the increasing demand driven by AI,” he said.
Just as Totem has opened up its 27,000 telecom towers to third parties, Trabbia confirmed that Orange plans to do the same with its data centers, paving the way for colocation opportunities and enterprise partnerships.
While details on specific expansion plans remain undisclosed, Trabbia assured that more announcements regarding Orange’s data center strategy will follow in the near future. With the rapid acceleration of cloud computing, AI, and digital services, Orange is positioning itself to play a significant role in the evolving data center landscape.
