Vodafone UK has created an On-Line Business Unit, responsible for the operator's At Home broadband and fixed-line offer. The unit will be led by Karen Thomson, formerly of AOL Europe. The CEO of France Telecom-owned Orange has stepped down. Sanjiv Ahu-ja will remain chairman of Orange UK and act as adviser to France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard while pursuing new ventures in emerging markets. German alternative operator HanseNet has signed a deal to rent access on German wholesale operator Telefonica Deutschland's DSL network. Separately, HanseNet launched an MVNO on Telefonica's O2 Germany mobile network. Polish incumbent Telekomunikacja Polska (TP) is reportedly lining up an FMC service. The service would enable customers to make calls via broadband at home and over GSM elsewhere. German incumbent Deutsche Telekom's plan to outsource its customer-service unit has led to strike threats from trade union Ver.di, which rejected a proposal to extend working hours and lower wages. DT CEO Rene Obermann says the company could become a takeover target or be broken up if costs are not lowered (TM, 4 Oct. 2005).
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