All talk: can Orange keep the future bright?

With the IPO pricing of what some observers call "new" Orange announced today, a further look at the now pan-European player seems apt. Most writing in the business press has focused on the heavily discounted pricing for the share offer, which sees up to 20 per cent of the company sold to retail and institutional investors. Telecoms stocks are somewhat depressed at the moment, which explains the attention being heaped upon Orange and others (BT Wireless, KPN, and T-Mobil) as they go to markets as mobile businesses in their own right.

But that's not the focus here.

Rather, let's consider some basics. This will be the biggest IPO of the year so far - a lot of people are betting a lot of cash on the future. Orange may call that future bright but, along with its peers, it admits it doesn't know for sure quite what form it will take as 3G and in-between 2.5G technologies are introduced.

The company knows network rollouts will be expensive, so it was somewhat refreshing to hear Orange deputy chief executive Graham Howe say increased capacity for voice calls will be embraced as it becomes available. Voice communication makes money, and unlike some ideas bandied around, we know for sure it has a part to play in future profit-making exercises.

That's not to say there won't be some data, video and other services that make money. But in an age where a UK county council can ban the erection of mobile phone masts on its land, doing the simple things well and not promising the earth are to be welcomed.

You wouldn't perhaps get that message from current Orange advertising, but at least the company's bosses seem to be keeping their feet on the ground at this crucial time.