Orange France has switched on its first commercial 4G-LTE network in Paris today, vowing to extend the high-speed network to 15 cities by early April.

The market leader has been trialling 4G in Marseille since June 2012 and in Lyon, Nantes and Lille since November 2012. Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Chartres, Orleans, Dunkirk, Nancy, Metz, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble and Annecy will be added from 4 April 2013.

In the French capital, today’s deployment covers the Paris Opera area with full, city-wide coverage expected by the end of the year.

Orange is offering five smartphones compatible with the network: the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, the Nokia Lumia 920, the HTC One SV and the Sony Xperia Z

There is also a tablet (the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1) and a modem (Huawei E5776) available.

Rival SFR become the first operator in France to commercially launch LTE with its network going live in Lyon and Montpellier before Christmas.