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Next week, users in France will have a chance to sign up for a “quadruple play” package: high-speed Internet access, TV with up to 90 channels, unlimited fixed telephony and a mobile phone service for a stunningly low price of €45 ($60) from Bouygues Telecom. This is the first quadruple play offer in France.

Many observers had expected Iliad-Free to be the first operator in France to propose this kind of offer, but a series of delays in the allocation of…

If, like me, you hate long-term mobile phone subscriptions, you will be pleased to hear that a French mobile operator, SFR (a subsidiary of Vivendi), is allowing customers to purchase data plans on a prepaid basis. If you live in France, you do not have to sign up for one- or two-year contracts.

SFR has begun offering a subscription-free pack with a 3G+ USB key and a SimCard for €69 with no subscription obligation (SFR will reimburse €30 after a certain…

It did not take long for Orange’s competitors to take advantage of a recent decision to ban iPhone exclusivity in France. Several multibrand distribution channels have already announced bargain-basement prices for an unlocked 3G iPhone.

Just before New Year, The Phone House in France began offering the iPhone 3G (8MB) for 19 euros ($26). The iPhone is brand new and not refurbished. The cheapest iPhone of this promotion comes with a 2-year contract with Bouygues Telecom at 34 euros a month…

Orange will lose its exclusive deal with Apple to sell the iPhone through Orange beginning this Christmas season pursuant to a decision by the French Competition Council. Orange may wholesale the iPhone, on a non-exclusive way to multi-brand resellers (for example, Darty) but it must ensure that the iPhone works the same way on any existing mobile network in France. Therefore Orange may continue to sell a SIM-locked iPhone tying it to the Orange network in its own distribution channel.…

The Conseil de la Concurrence (the French competition court) has ordered Apple to terminate its exclusive deal with Orange France and to offer the iPhone through other operators. The court seems to have expedited its decision based on the complaint filed by rival operator, Bouygues Telecom, just in time for the holiday season when many people are buying electronic gadgets. This means Bouygues Telecom and SFR can begin offering the iPhone to customers. The court’s decision is a blow to…

ARCEP, the French telecoms regulator, has decided to regulate the price that operators charge one another for call terminations. The move will eventually result in lower prices for end users. Other telecom regulators in Europe have lowered these rates or about to make similar moves.

Setting up a model to evaluate cost of mobile networks In 2006, ARCEP adopted a new model to understand better the cost structure of mobile phone operators. Many elements of the ARCEP model come from Ofcom,…