Orange has started a LTE pilot in Marseille, the first French city where it will offer the high-speed service. By the end of this year the operator will add Lyon and Nantes to the LTE pilot. And another 12 French cities will be added by the summer of 2013.

The operator will equip 2,500 testers for its LTE equipment across the initial three cities. They will be drawn from its own employees as well as consumers and businesses.

Orange’s first 4G commercial offers will be launched in the coming months, the operator said.

Among the services demonstrated at the launch in Marseille were consumers watching HD TV and playing games on a tablet. For business users, services included cloud-based working and videoconferencing.