Orange, the UK mobile phone operator acquired by France Telecom last week, aims to capture 50 per cent of new mobile sales in Northern Ireland by promoting a regional strategy tailored to the local market, its general manager in the North, Mr Eric Carson, has said.

The company, which launched its network in Northern Ireland in April 1998, has signed up 120,000 customers, some 20 per cent of the local mobile market.

"We are aiming to be the dominant player in Northern Ireland," Mr Carson said. "Orange has about 45 per cent of monthly mobile sales now but we are looking to push that to 50 per cent by Christmas."

The growth of the Orange brand in Northern Ireland demonstrates a regional strategy and local knowledge of the marketplace, Mr Carson said. "We are the only operator to publish local coverage figures and push a purely Northern Ireland-focused advertising campaign."

Orange capitalised on a lack of investment and interest from other mobile operators in the North.

"People weren't missing out on services but there was a lack of quality and coverage," he said.

Mobile penetration in Northern Ireland is just over 30 per cent, well below the Republic and Britain, where almost half the population own a mobile phone.

But with rapid growth predicted as the North plays catch-up, the company hopes to triple the number of its own shops to 12 and double its staff to about 100 this year.

The development of a third-generation network will be the next major challenge for Orange, he said. Although network roll-out will initially be based around high-density population centres, customers in Northern Ireland will not have to wait longer than the rest of the UK for third-generation services, he said.

Third generation will mean more masts and more investment, although no figure has been put on either yet. The company was very disappointed to lose the Supreme Court case for the third mobile licence in the Republic, which was awarded to Meteor. But Mr Carson said he would be personally interested in applying for one of the Republic's third-generation licences later this year.

"We would be keen to establish an all-Ireland telecoms network. It's almost a unique situation in Northern Ireland when you can drive 10 miles across the Border and end up paying international charges."