Partner Communications Company

Partner Communications Company Ltd.

Type	Public (TASE: PTNR, NASDAQ: PTNR)
Industry	Mobile Telecommunications
Founded	1999 (1999)
Founder(s)	Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited, Elbit and Eurocom
Headquarters	Rosh Haayin, Israel
Area served	Israel
Revenue	6,329,550 in NIS thousands(2008)
Operating income	1,605,198 in NIS thousands(2008)
Net income	1,051,479 in NIS thousands(2008)
Employees	5700
Website	www.orange.co.il

Partner Communications Company Ltd. (operating under the Orange brand name) is a mobile network operator, internet Wi-Fi and fixed telephony service provider in Israel.

The company’s shares are traded on NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the TA-25 Index; since August 2009, Scailex Corporation (owned by businessman Ilan Ben-Dov) controls 51% of its shares.^[1]

History

Partner HQ in Afek Industrial Park

Partner was founded in 1999 and was the third mobile network operator to enter the Israeli market, competing with the two incumbent operators - Cellcom (Founded 1994) and Pelephone (Founded 1986). When it was announced that the Ministry of Telecommunication would grant a third cellular network license it was thought that there is no room for another company; hence only two companies responded to the tender: Partner, and a group called "Tapuz". After losing its bid, Tapuz (which incidentally means "Orange" in Hebrew) became a part of Partner.

When it started operating in 1999, Partner was the first GSM cellular network in Israel (the others were using CDMA, TDMA, and IDEN technologies at that time), it allowed Israeli consumers to use their phones in other locations in the world with a similar network. The network was branded under the name "Orange" which was an international brand registered under the name of Hutchison Whampoa Hong-Kong, which was the major initial investor in the company.^{[citation needed]} The successful launch and promotion of the Orange brand is considered one of the best advertising efforts undertaken in Israel.

Founding shareholders

The initial shareholders in the consortium that bid for the third cellular network license in Israel, in addition to Hutchison Telecom, were Elbit, MATAV (now part of HOT), Eurocom and Polar Communications.

2001 IPO

In November 1999, only 11 months after it began operating, Partner had an initial public offering on NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange; the shares were listed under the symbol PTNR on NASDAQ and under the symbol PCCD on the London Stock Exchange. The company raised $604m, enabling the initial investor consortium to recoup a significant portion of their investment swiftly.^[2]

In 2001 the shares were also listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol PTNR and became a constitute of the TA-25 Index.

Hutchison takes full control

Through the years the ownership of Partner Communications changed dramatically. The original Israeli partners sold the majority of their shares and eventually held only a small percentage of the company. Other than the public, the biggest shareholder became Hutchison Telecom (51.6%). The Egyptian company Orascom bought 20% of Hucthison, and as a result, held 9.99% of Partner's shares indirectly.

Sale to Scailex Corporation

During 2009 Hutchison decided to exit their investment in Partner and sold their 51% controlling stake to businessman Ilan Ben-Dov, who made his fortune holding the exclusive rights to market the Samsung mobile phones in Israel. The company was sold to Scailex Corporation (a company controlled by Ben-Dov) for NIS 5.29 billion (about USD $1.38 billion).

Brand ownership

The international brand "Orange" that the company uses today under license, belongs to Orange S.A., a company owned by France Télécom, which is not related to the current owners of Partner. However, France Télécom decided to let Partner keep using the name Orange because of the network's wide commercial success and brand recognition. This situation occurred following the sale of the Orange Group by Hutchison Whampoa, which did not include the holding in Hutchison Telecom.

Operations

Partner Communications commenced full commercial operations in January 1999 and by March 31, 2001 had over 1,000,000 subscribers, representing an estimated 21% of the cellular market in Israel at that time.^[3] As of June 2009 it has 2,944,000 subscribers and a 32% market share, while the other mobile operators in Israel have: 35% - Cellcom, 29% - Pelephone and 4% - MIRS.^[4]

The Orange network utilizes GSM (900Mhz/1800Mhz) and UMTS (2100Mhz) technology and for 3G services; an HSDPA network that currently covers over 90% of the country. Users of the network can use advanced services all over the world due to roaming agreements with 350 GSM and 130 UMTS international networks. 23% of the network users are business customers, 29% are pre-paid customers and the rest are private post-paid customers.

The prefix (area code) for 'Orange' customers is 054, although customers who requested to keep their old number from a different cellular company may have a different area code.

On January 15, 2007 Partner was granted a license to provide terrestrial telecommunications nationwide which gives it the option to operate a wired telephony; initially the service was provided for large businesses only.

In 1 January 2009, the company commercially launched its ISP services and Landline services (based on the Session Initiation Protocol) for private users and small businesses. These services rely on the combination of Nokia Siemens Network core services and Siemens Gigaset residential gateway. The combination of these allowed Partner to launch several unique services such as multiple calls on a single line, or *77 which allows users to choose whether to answer an incoming call on their home phone or their orange mobile phone.

In December 2010, the company was cited by Channel 2 News and other leading Israeli media for a complaint by a young couple who had ordered a service package. The couple found that they had been misled by the Orange representative, who promised them one package while their monthly billings did not reflect the same numbers. When the couple attempted to locate the agent, they were told by Orange representatives that the agent had died in a horrific traffic accident and that his computer, along with all copies of their documentation, had been destroyed. Shortly after, the couple found that the agent was alive, though not working for Orange any longer. ^[5]

Other complaints have been launched by customers. For example, one business started a blog called Cellular Agony, describing their year long attempts to reconcile their bills with what their agents had promised them. ^[6]

See also

• Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited
• Communications in Israel
• Cellcom
• Pelephone
• Mirs

References

1. ^ "Ilan Ben-Dov Buys Controlling Interest of Partner". Calcalist. August 12, 2009. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3761158,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-18. 
2. ^ J.P. Morgan announces Partner Communications' $604 million ADR IPO on Nasdaq; Israeli mobile telephone company founded by Hutchison Whampoa, marketed under The Orange Brand., Business Wire, --November 1, 1999--, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57050995.html 
3. ^ Investor Releases - Fact Sheet Q1 2001.pdf, http://www.orange.co.il/Res/Investor_Releases/PDF%5CFact%20Sheet/FS_Q1_2001.pdf 
4. ^ Investor Releases - Fact Sheet Q2 2009.pdf, http://www.orange.co.il/res/Investor_Releases/PDF/Fact%20Sheet/fact%20sheet%20Q2%2009%20final.pdf 
5. ^ Orange Agent Reported Killed - Still Alive (Hebrew article), http://www.mako.co.il/news-money/consumer/Article-179c210f5ab2d21004.htm&Partner=rss 
6. ^ Cellular Agony blog by Orange customer, http://www.cellularagony.wordpress.com 

External links

• Partner Communications' investor site
• Main portal (Hebrew)
• ISP and Telephone services (Hebrew)
• Main portal (Russian)