Marketing has learned that high-level talks between Orange and Wanadoo executives took place this summer, although as yet no decision has been made about whether to merge the two.
Sources have suggested that France Telecom would prefer to focus its efforts in the UK on the Orange brand, as it has more than 13m UK customers and a longer history here compared with Wanadoo, which only rebranded from Freeserve this spring and has to rely on third-party suppliers for its internet access.
The Wanadoo rebrand has cost France Telecom more than £20m and it is reluctant to write off this cost. However, it is desperate to end BT's dominance in the UK, which, despite facing intense competition for fixed-line and broadband customers, remains the market leader.
A Wanadoo spokesman confirmed that it was 'working much more closely' with Orange and that the two were developing joint services, but denied a full-scale merger.
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