Mauritius Telecom intends to penetrate regional markets by using the Orange brand as part of its growth strategy. The Chairman of the MT Board of Directors, Thomas Appalasamy, explained that Mauritius had a small structure and narrow market and in order to grow it was imperative to associate itself with an international brand.

He said: “The Corporate name of MT will remain the same but only the mobile and internet services will be re-branded as Orange. Merging with Orange does not mean selling MT. Orange will support MT to attack regional markets. Our aim is to make MT a regional leader in telecommunications.”

MT CEO Sarat Lallah said that MT had many commercial brands that were spread across three differrent services (fixed line, mobile, internet) and that pooling them under one name would simplify MT's visibility with customers. He said: “With the telecommunications sector becoming more aggressive we have decided to opt for an integrated strategy by using a single name. This would improve our visibility to the customers.”

The Head of MT's Commercial Division, Alain Cornu, explains that the re-branding process would take place in phases. He said: “We have re-branded because MT must learn to adapt to new global trends in the Telecommunications sector and we will be able to provide a better service to our customers. There will be a replacement of the MT IT system and new products and offers would be available to the public. Our customers will as a result benefit from reduced prices, roaming and innovation.”