All posts in Free
Xavier Niel scoops up Orange Suisse for €2.3 billion
Having successfully entered and disrupted France’s telco market, first in triple play and then in mobile, he’s recently been setting his sights on new markets. Although the T-mobile US acquisition didn’t go his way, he did have have a successful first move abroad by taking a 55% stake in Monoco Telecom. Now he’s wrapping up […]
With 10 million subscribers, 4G starts to win over France
After a healthy start 18 months ago, 4G has begun to seduce the French public, with 10 million users now signed-up. The uptake of 4G was historically fast, with users taking to 4G 10 times faster than they did with 3G. Although Europe clearly trailed the US the roll-out of 4G, clearly things are […]
Vivendi chooses Numericable, Bouygues and Free on the sidelines for now
On Friday, the French telecom world was buzzing from a somewhat surprise decision that Vivendi would be entering into exclusive negotiations to sell-off its telco unit SFR to Numericable, effectively leaving Bouygues and, indirectly, Free out in the cold. While Numericable had reportedly been Vivendi’s preferred candidate early on, Bouygues came in later in the […]
Orange finally joins effort to bring 3G and 4G to Paris metro
After holding out due to its concerns over RATP’s high fees, Orange have finally signed on to bring its 3G and 4G services to Paris’ metro system. Bouygues and SFR accepted to join the effort last year, so with Orange finally coming on board, the vast majority (roughly 75%) of metro commuters will be covered […]
4G off to a roaring start in France
1.5 million. That’s the number of mobile customers that have jumped to 4G in just a little over a month. After struggling for some time to respond to Free’s shakeup of the mobile market just under two years ago, France’s established telco giants are responding more adeptly as of late. While they all moved to […]
Doubling its market share in just one year, Free continues to shake up France’s telco market
Last week, Iliad, Free’s parent company, announced some very big results, proving that despite Orange’s, SFR’s and Bouygues‘ fairly effective response to Free’s entry into mobile, Free’s momentum isn’t slowing. If anything, it looks to be picking up steam. Some of the big highlights were – a doubling of its market share to 10% in […]
Orange ratchets up mobile battle with Free with launch of new Sosh quadruple play offer
Orange’s ultra-low cost mobile brand Sosh is now being extended into Free’s most profitable territory, fixed internet service. Orange announced this week that they will soon be launching a new quadruple play, non-engagement offer under the Sosh brand, including mobile, internet, TV and telephone service. The price of the offer will vary between 34.90€ – 54.90€ […]
Consumer complaints about mobile services skyrocketing in France
In 2012, Afutt (the French association for telcoms users) registered a record number of official complaints from subscribers about their mobile service. Although mobile contracts are getting cheaper and cheaper thanks to newbie Free Mobile as well as the incumbents who’ve been playing catch-up, consumers don’t look to any happier with their mobile services. In fact, […]
In France, NYE SMS sees decline as MMS and new platforms rise
Although sending a SMS is still the prefered way to say ‘Happy New Year’ in France, things are starting to change. According to early estimates published in Les Echos, at least 600 million SMS were sent in France as 2013 descended upon us. SFR alone logged 280 million between 21h on the 31st and 9h the […]
Increased Smartphone Adoption in France fueled by Free Mobile
According to the annual French digital economy barometer conducted by the Unversity of Paris-Dauphine and Médiamétrie, France’s digital economy, continues to demonstrate impressive growth. However, there are definitely a few areas of opportunity, and some watch-outs that need to be address. Here are a 3 key takeaways: The smartphone boom is evidence that competition can […]