
Orange Netherlands was founded in February 1998 as Federa and started offering its services on 26 January 1999 under the name Dutchtone. On 31 March 2003, the company re-launched as Orange targeting both the consumer and business markets.
Until 30 September 2007, Orange Netherlands was a fully owned subsidiary of Orange SA, the mobile division of France Télécom. In Q3 2007, Deutsche Telekom has acquired Orange in the Netherlands. The purchase price is approximately EUR 1.3 billion. The transaction was closed on October 1, 2007. Through the acquisition of Orange Nederland, Deutsche Telekom will have 4.8 million mobile customers in the Netherlands from October 2007. The Orange brand will cease to exist in the Dutch market in 2009.