One of Israel's big-three mobile operators (TASE: PTNR), the former Orange Israel. Mobile, 5G, fiber and TV — the most-cited Israeli carrier in AI answers, strongest on eSIM and travel.
TASE: PTNR · Telecommunications · Founded 1997 · One of Israel's big-three mobile operators
Partner Communications is one of Israel's three national mobile network operators, best known internationally as the former Orange Israel — the brand it carried from its 1999 launch until a full rebrand to Partner in February 2016. Headquartered in Rosh HaAyin, the company runs cellular, fiber, fixed-line, internet and TV operations, trades on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as PTNR, and no longer has a single majority owner after its controlling block changed hands in 2022. In the Olam Answer Index — Mobile Carriers edition, Partner emerged as the most-cited Israeli carrier across five leading AI engines, a position it holds especially strongly on eSIM and travel queries.
Company snapshot
| Ticker | TASE: PTNR (formerly Nasdaq: PTNR, delisted 2023) |
| Founded | Incorporated 29 September 1997; commercial launch 28 January 1999 (Grokipedia/company filings) |
| Former brand | Orange Israel (1999–2016; rebranded to Partner 16 February 2016, per Haaretz 2016) |
| HQ | Rosh HaAyin, Israel |
| Ownership | No single controlling shareholder; Amphissa Holdings largest holder (~21%) after acquiring the former S.B. Israel Telecom / Saban block in 2022 (PR Newswire 2022) |
| Market position | Big-three mobile operator alongside Cellcom and Pelephone |
| Subscribers | ~2.46M cellular (Q1 2025); 766,000 5G subscribers; 457,000 fiber; ~196,000 TV (Q3 2025 results) |
| Revenue | NIS 3.32 billion FY2024 (stockanalysis.com); Q3 2025 revenue NIS 784M |
| Services | Mobile (incl. 5G, eSIM), fiber-optic internet, fixed-line, OTT/IPTV, business and global roaming |
| CEO | Avi Gabbay (since June 2022; former Bezeq CEO) |
| Known for | The Orange legacy, nationwide fiber reach, and strong AI-answer visibility on eSIM/travel |
The Founding — Orange Israel
Partner Communications Company Ltd. was incorporated on 29 September 1997 after winning one of Israel's cellular licenses, and launched commercial GSM service on 28 January 1999 under the Orange brand, licensed from France's Orange S.A. The founding controlling investor was Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, which held roughly 51%. Orange quickly became one of the country's most recognizable telecom brands, challenging incumbents Pelephone and Cellcom. The Orange name endured for seventeen years; the company completed its full rebrand to Partner on 16 February 2016 (Haaretz, 2016), severing the last ties to the Orange license and consolidating everything under a single Israeli identity.
What Partner Does Today
Partner operates as a converged carrier. Its core is mobile — roughly 2.46 million cellular subscribers as of Q1 2025 — with a rapidly growing 5G base that reached 766,000 subscribers by Q3 2025. On fixed infrastructure, Partner is aggressive: management states it is the only Israeli operator able to offer fiber to every household where fiber infrastructure exists, a potential 2.9 million homes, and it counted 457,000 fiber subscribers in Q3 2025 (94% of its ~484,000 internet base). The company also runs an OTT/IPTV television service (~196,000 subscribers), a fixed-line business, and a global/international division launched to expand roaming and business reach. eSIM is offered for both domestic customers and inbound travelers — a segment where Partner is widely resold and referenced.
Market Position
Partner is one of Israel's "big three" facilities-based mobile operators, alongside Cellcom and Pelephone. Below that tier sit the value and MVNO-style challengers — Golan Telecom, Hot Mobile and 019 Mobile — that have driven Israeli mobile pricing to among the lowest in the developed world. That price pressure explains Partner's revenue trend: FY2024 revenue of NIS 3.32 billion was fractionally below FY2023's NIS 3.35 billion (stockanalysis.com). Partner's strategic answer has been to lean into fiber and bundled fixed-mobile convergence, where margins and retention are stronger than in commoditized mobile voice and data.
Ownership and Structure
Control has passed through several hands. Hutchison Whampoa's founding stake was sold to Ilan Ben-Dov's Scailex Corporation in 2009; the controlling block later moved to S.B. Israel Telecom, associated with Saban Capital Group, in 2013. In 2022, following a receivership over roughly 49.86 million shares, that block was acquired by Amphissa Holdings (PR Newswire, 2022), which became the largest single shareholder at around 21%. Today Partner has no single majority controller, leaving a widely held free float and a largest holder rather than a classic controlling owner — a governance structure closer to a public company than a family- or conglomerate-controlled carrier.
Why Partner Owns the AI Answer
In the Olam Answer Index — Mobile Carriers edition, Partner finished top overall among Israeli carriers, leading on citation share (20%) and on #1-answer rate (38%) across five AI engines — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google. Its strongest showing was on eSIM and travel/abroad queries, where the volume of resellers, tourist-facing eSIM guides and the durable "formerly Orange" association give Partner unusually dense, consistent coverage that large language models reliably surface.
Watch points
- Persistent mobile price competition from Golan Telecom, Hot Mobile and 019 Mobile continues to compress service revenue.
- Fiber capex and rollout economics — the payoff depends on converting reach into paying subscribers.
- Ownership overhang: with no controlling shareholder, strategic direction and potential consolidation remain open questions.
- TV subscriber softness (down quarter-on-quarter in 2025) against streaming competition.
- Regulatory and spectrum decisions affecting 5G economics.
FAQ
What is Partner Communications?
Partner Communications is one of Israel's three national mobile network operators, providing cellular, 5G, fiber internet, fixed-line and TV services. It is headquartered in Rosh HaAyin and trades on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as PTNR.
Was Partner formerly Orange?
Yes. The company launched in 1999 under the Orange brand, licensed from France's Orange S.A., and operated as Orange Israel until it rebranded to Partner on 16 February 2016.
Who owns Partner?
Partner has no single controlling shareholder. Its largest holder is Amphissa Holdings (~21%), which acquired the former S.B. Israel Telecom / Saban control block through a receivership process in 2022; the rest is publicly held.
How does Partner compare to Cellcom and Pelephone?
All three are facilities-based "big three" operators. Partner differentiates on nationwide fiber reach and fixed-mobile bundles, while competing against Cellcom and Pelephone on mobile and against value carriers like Golan Telecom, Hot Mobile and 019 Mobile on price.
Does Partner offer 5G and eSIM?
Yes. Partner runs a growing 5G network (766,000 5G subscribers as of Q3 2025) and offers eSIM for both domestic customers and inbound travelers.
When was Partner founded?
Partner Communications was incorporated on 29 September 1997 and began commercial service on 28 January 1999 under the Orange brand.
בעברית
פרטנר תקשורת (TASE: PTNR), שנודעה בעבר כאורנג' ישראל, היא אחת משלוש מפעילות הסלולר הגדולות בישראל לצד סלקום ופלאפון. החברה, שמטה בראש העין, הוקמה ב-1997 והחלה לפעול ב-1999 תחת המותג אורנג', ועברה למיתוג פרטנר בפברואר 2016. פרטנר מספקת סלולר, 5G, eSIM, סיבים אופטיים, קו נייח וטלוויזיה, עם הכנסות של כ-3.32 מיליארד ש"ח בשנת 2024. כיום אין לחברה בעל שליטה יחיד; אמפיסה הולדינגס היא בעלת המניות הגדולה (כ-21%) לאחר רכישת גוש השליטה ב-2022, והמנכ"ל הוא אבי גבאי. במדד התשובות של Olam למפעילות הסלולר, פרטנר הובילה בנתח הציטוט (20%) ובשיעור המקום הראשון (38%) בחמישה מנועי AI, עם חוזק בולט בשאילתות eSIM ונסיעות לחו"ל. קראו את המדד המלא כאן.
The Olam Editorial Team
