Orange partners with Facebook on startup accelerator

Orange has partnered with Facebook to launch a startup accelerator focused on network infrastructure innovation.

Orange is working with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and Facebook to launch a new ‘Telecom Track’ as part of its Orange Fab accelerator programme in France.

The startups will receive all of the current benefits of the Orange Fab programme, with dedicated workshops, mentoring sessions, an optional €15,000 in funding, and access to work space at the Orange Gardens research and innovation campus in Paris.

The startups will have access to experts from the TIP community and Facebook, and will be able to connect with innovation teams, investment partners, and venture capitalists.

The call for projects is now open and candidates will have until 14th May 2017 to submit entries, after which time a number of startups will be selected to join the acceleration programme.

“As part of our network evolution towards 5G and future technologies, there is a huge opportunity to innovate at the network level, and a need to support the bright minds and talents that will keep pushing telecoms innovation forward,” said Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, executive vice-president of innovation, marketing and technologies, Orange.

“We believe that with our partnership with Facebook and the opening of the new Telecom Track, we are able to encourage and support this community of startups, which has the ability to really disrupt this space and develop new innovation within telecoms.”

Facebook launched TIP last year as an engineering-focused initiative to bring operators, infrastructure providers, system integrators, and other technology companies together.