France - Telecoms IP Networks Digital Media and Forecasts

Countries covered: France This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in France’s telecommunications market. The report analyses trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including VoIP, VoD and IPTV developments. Subjects include: Key statistics; Market and industry overviews; Industry and regulatory issues; Major players (fixed, mobile and broadband); Mobile voice and data markets; Internet and broadband development; Convergence (voice/data, fixed/wireless/mobile); Telecom market forecasts for selective years to 2015 or 2019.

Additional Information

BuddeComm’s annual publication, France - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts, provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in the telecommunications and digital media markets in France. 

France retains the third largest telecom market in Europe. Revenue from the fixed market has been propped up by the broadband sector while fixed-telephony continues to suffer from a combination of price competition and the migration to VoIP and mobile-only solutions. Investment in the telecom sector, having shown a slight increase to €6.5 billion in 2008, is evenly divided between the fixed-line and mobile sectors. Investment is expected to have fallen by about 2-3% in 2009, with only marginal recovery in 2010 and 2011 as a result of the economic downturn and a consumer slowdown in discretionary spend. Nevertheless, this is likely to be restricted to the high-end market.

 Although competition is strong, since 2005 the market has been affected by considerable consolidation through mergers and acquisitions among a number of major players. This has led to the creation of an oligopoly composed of a few major players, which benefit from having a reach and size enabling them to invest in network upgrades and promote some of Europe’s most sophisticated bundled service offers.

 In the fibre sector, France remains one of the few countries in Europe with extensive fibre deployment and competition. By early 2010 there were some six million homes passed by fibre. In coming years the sector will benefit from the regulator having been an early initiator of rules to aid deployment through providing access to ducts. 

Mobile broadband services available on HSPA will in 2010 be complemented by emerging LTE deployments. France enjoys some of the cheapest mobile broadband plans in the world. The government’s Digital France 2012 plan includes the allocation of the 790-862MHz band for mobile broadband services to help extend the service to rural communities, and so realise plans for broadband to be a universal service accessible by all citizens by 2012. 

France - key telecom parameters - 2008; 2010

 Sector 2008 2010 (e)
Broadband:
      Fixed broadband subscribers (million) 17.7 21.7
  Fixed broadband penetration rate 27% 31%
  Subscribers to telecoms services:    
  Fixed-line telephony (million) 40.6 39.8
  SIM cards in service (million) 58.0 61.8
  SIM penetration (population) 91% 99%
  (Source: BuddeComm) 

Key highlights:

• Telecom market investment will be focussed on the broadband and mobile sectors in 2010 as operators upgrade networks and compete for subscribers. Overall telecom sector revenue which performed better than most other European markets in 2008 and 2009 should thereby expect healthy growth in 2010.
• The fixed-line sector will continue to contract in revenue and subscriber numbers during the next few years as consumers migrate to mobile services and, significantly, to VoIP included in the multitude of widely available bundled offers.
• France will expect considerable growth in the fibre sector in coming years as a result of operator investment combined with an effective regulatory regime to guarantee competitor access to networks. Although fibre uptake has been far outstripped by the growing number of homes passed by fibre networks, the gap should start to close during 2010 as consumers respond to the price benefits of faster IP-delivered bundled services.
• Broadband infrastructure by 2020 should provide 70% of the population with a 100Mb/s service resulting from a multi-billion Euro investment commitment by the government from 2010. The stimulus will propel the country to the forefront of Europe’s digital economy, enabling the wider distribution and uptake of rich digital media offers.

 For those needing high level strategic information and objective analysis on the telecommunications sector in France, this report is essential reading and gives further information on:

• Developments in the digital broadcast market, IPTV and VoD;
• Market liberalisation and regulatory issues;
• The impact of the global economic crisis;
• Telecoms operators - privatisation, acquisitions, new licences;
• Internet and broadband development and growth;
• VoIP, IPTV, VoD, digital TV and DTTV;
• Historical and current subscriber statistics;
• Average Revenue per User (ARPU) statistics and forecasts.

 Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

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