The FreeMove alliance is a

business alliance A business alliance is an agreement between businesses, usually motivated by cost reduction and improved service for the customer. Alliances are often bounded by a single agreement with equitable risk and opportunity share for all parties involved ...

of mobile

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

companies based in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

History

The FreeMove alliance was established in 2003, combining the national network capabilities of four of Europe's largest national mobile operators: Deutsche Telecom, France Télécom (now Orange S.A.),

Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world. It provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadba ...

and Telecom Italia (TIM) for multinational customers.

Timeline

January 2020: Swisscom joined FreeMove in January 2020. November 2017: BT joined FreeMove in November 2017. September 2013 : Eir, the main Irish operator, joins FreeMove. August 2011: FreeMove expands its presence into South East Europe with mobile telecommunications services providers

Cosmote COSMOTE MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS S.A. ( el, COSMOTE ΚΙΝΗΤΕΣ ΤΗΛΕΠΙΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΕΣ Α.Ε.) known as just Cosmote is the largest mobile network operator in Greece. The company is headquartered in Athens and is a fully owned subsidia ...

(Greece) February 2011: FreeMove signs a partnership with leading Russian operator

MegaFon MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator

. November 2010: A key strategic partnership with

T-Mobile US T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 perc ...

is announced to better support multinational corporations operating on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. October 2010: FreeMove and

Turkcell Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş. (''lit. Turkcell Communication Services'') (, ) is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. The company has 39,3 million subscribers as of September 2021. In 2015, the company's number of ...

announce their partnership. March 2007: FreeMove and Bridge Alliance announce that the two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pave the way for establishing an tight cooperation across their combined global footprint. September 2006: Spanish operator Amena, part of the France Télécom group, joins FreeMove. March 2006:

TeliaSonera Telia Company AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Telia also owns TV4 Media which includes TV4 in Sweden, MTV Oy in Fi ...

, the leading Nordic and Baltic operator, joins FreeMove. January 2006:

leaves FreeMove as a condition of the acquisition of O2. December 2003: FreeMove is formed with four leading European operators.

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...

Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixe ...

and

Membership

As of July 2020, FreeMove has four active members and one former member. Founding member Telefónica was required to end membership of FreeMove in order to acquire O2, with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

citing competition concerns. The Commission were concerned non-FreeMove members would have to pay significantly more for roaming services in the UK, as three out of the four largest mobile network operators would have been members of the FreeMove alliance.

Partnerships

FreeMove has partnerships with several mobile telecommunication operators and alliances which provide services in territories not serviced by members. Partners have access to the FreeMove networks and FreeMove has access to the partner's network. BT BT joined FreeMove in November 2017. BT is one of the world’s leading communications services companies. BT serves the needs of customers in the UK and in 180 countries worldwide. Their main activities are the provision of fixed-line services, broadband, mobile and TV products and services as well as networked IT services.

Bridge Alliance The Bridge Alliance (originally the Bridge Mobile Alliance) is a business alliance of 34 major mobile telecommunications companies in Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. It uses connectivity and a suite of integrated value-added servic ...

FreeMove has been co-operating with the Bridge Alliance since 2007. This partnership gas been extended in June 2017. Bridge covers over 800 million customers across 38 markets, ensuring that frequent travelers can use a suite of value-added services for roaming amongst member countries.

Swisscom Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are located in Ittigen near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51.0 percent of Swisscom AG. According to its own published data, Swisscom holds a market share of 56 ...

Swisscom joined FreeMove in January 2020. Swisscom, Switzerland’s leading telecoms company and one of its leading IT companies, is headquartered in Ittigen, close to the capital city Berne. To the end of the 3rd Quarter 2019 19,500 employees generated sales of CHF 8,456 million. It is 51% Confederation-owned and is one of Switzerland’s most sustainable and innovative companies.

MegaFon MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator

FreeMove signed a partnership with leading Russian operator

MegaFon MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator

in February 2011 to include the Russian market. With a subscriber base of 57 million, MegaFon is the second largest operator in Russia’s growing telecoms market, both in terms of subscriber numbers and revenue share.

A partnership with

was announced in November 10, 2010. This partnership has been renewed and expanded in Dec. 2017 T-Mobile US has 72 million customers as at Q1 2017, providing mobile voice and data services and serving as the host network for many mobile virtual network operators.

The partnership between FreeMove and Turkcell was announced in October 2010. The company has 62 million subscribers in Turkey.http://www.turkcell.com.tr/site/en/turkcellhakkinda/Sayfalar/genel-bakis/genel.aspx
/ref> NOS NOS Comunicações, S.A., previously known as Optimus, is the biggest communication and entertainment group in Portugal. It has formed part of the FreeMove ecosystem for a long time as Optimus was previously partly owned by the Orange Group.

eir In Norse mythology, Eir (Old Norse: , "protection, help, mercy"Orchard (1997:36).) is a goddess or valkyrie associated with medical skill. Eir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; th ...

Eir is the principal provider of fixed-line and mobile telecommunications services in Ireland with approximately 2 million customers. FreeMove has partnered with eircom in June 2013.

References

{{FreeMove Mobile telecommunications Strategic alliances

History

Timeline

Membership

Partnerships

See also

References