Free Mobile selects NSN to supply network equipment (France)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nokia Siemens Networks has been selected by the parent company of France’s fourth 3G license holder Free Mobile, Iliad, to supply its core network equipment. The preliminary agreement has been signed by the company and the definitive deal is expected soon.
The network core equipment is covered in the deal with NSN and it is traditionally the most expensive part of a rollout. Though the contract value has not been disclosed, it is estimated to be around EUR 250 million.
A similar deal at a smaller scale is also under consideration by Iliad.
Networks access fees to be increased by France Telecom
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The monthly line rental fees has been planned to be raised by France Telecom (FT) for the operators accessing its networks by EUR1 (USD1.39). The proposal is currently assessed by Arcep.
Operators such as SFR (including neuf Cegetel) and Iliad (Free) would be affected by the move as both of them use the networks for broadband services.
Arcep will meet with members of the government to examine the issue in the coming days.
France to sell of remaining 3G frequencies
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The two remaining frequencies left to be allocated for the fourth 3G wireless license will be sold by France at a price of EUR120 million (USD168 million). The same amount was paid by Iliad recently for Free Mobile’s 3G operating license. However, price will actually be determined by the regulator Arcep, and not the government.
There are three operating blocks in the fourth 3G license, out of which, one is for a new market entrant (Iliad), and the other two are open for any of the incumbent cellcos Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Telecom.
Arcep will take the decision on the 3G spectrum in H1 2010 which would be followed by 4G auctions.
Free win may shakeup French telecom market
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The issue of fourth 3G license to Free, a subsidiary of the aggressive Groupe Iliad at the cost of €240 million has resulted in a major shakeup in the French telecom industry. The decision has been fiercely condemned by other incumbent players- France Telecom’s Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Neuf-SFR who paid €619 million ($885 million) each for their 3G licences a decade ago.
The decision of awarding the license to Free came after Virgin Mobile and Numericable dropped out of the bidding. The operator will receive its license in January and will have two years to build its network. The service is expected to start in 2012 and will cover almost 75% of the population in 2015 and 90% in 2018.
By offering triple-play bundled voice, data and internet TV services for less than €30 ($43) a month, Free has become France’s second largest ISP. Further deduction in the fees for the French customers has been promised by Iliad chief Xavier Niel.
France fourth 3G license awarded to Free Mobile
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Free Mobile, a subsidiary of broadband group Iliad, became the fourth mobile network to get 3G mobile network licence at the cost of EUR 240 million from French telecommunications regulator Arcep.
The company’s target is to cover 90 percent of the population with its 3G network within eight years, to launch the service within two years and to host MVNOs. The frequency license will be provided to Free Mobile in January.
Free Mobile was the only candidate for the 5 MHz licence in the 2.1GHz band in a procedure launched on 1 August and its application was accepted in consideration of all applicable criteria.
Clear and innovative services at competitive prices particularly designed to help facilitate access to the mobile internet is what the company plans to offer to the consumers.
The applications for remaining 10 MHz of spectrum of the 2.1 GHz band will be called in the first half of next year with the purpose to enable the deployment of new generation and very high-speed mobile networks.
Iliad adds 171,000 DSL subscribers in Q3
French operator Iliad added 171,000 new DSL subscribers in the third quarter to take its total customer base to 2.076 million. The group, which operates under the brand name Free, has passed early its target for year-end 2006 of 2 million DSL subscribers. Quarterly revenues rose 31 percent from a year earlier to EUR 240 million, as growth in broadband helped offset a decline in sales at the company’s traditional telephony business. Average revenue per broadband user was stable during the quarter at EUR 35.5 per month. Iliad repeated a target to reach a ratio of around 75 percent f its customer base using unbundled lines by the end of the year.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
