French carriers hit back at Free Mobile
Regulator seems unimpressed by claims Free is not meeting coverage obligations, as the cellco starts a price war
Published: 30 January, 2012
READ MORE: Spectrum | France | Infrastructure | Regulator | UMTS
France's new cellco, Free Mobile, has shaken up a usually stagnant market with its low prices, but its rivals are complaining that it is not sticking to the conditions of its licence.
Regulator Arcep says it will investigate claims that Free Mobile, owned by broadband provider Iliad, is not offering the level of coverage it is mandated to, following allegations from employees at rival operators - all of which have been hit by Free's entry, and forced to lower their own prices. Orange slashed rates for its Sosh unlimited voice/data plan by €10 just day after Free made its debut.
Despite Arcep's pledge, it fired a shot across the bows of the established trio of cellcos - Orange, SFR and Bouygues - reminding them that none of them had met coverage obligations at launch, and effectively telling them to compete with Free not moan about it. Free's headline offerings are a €20 ($26) 3G plan offering unlimited voice, SMS and data, and another offering 60 minutes and 60 texts for just €2 a month.
Some expect Free to influence other European countries by setting a new benchmark for pricing, which could affect European Commission policies in areas like roaming charges, which the EC wants to reduce, potentially to zero in time.
The telecoms trade union, CFE-CGC & Unsa, wrote to ARCEP last week, repeating local media allegations that Free Mobile might have shut down some of its transmission towers and asking the regulator to investigate whether the company still met the coverage condition in its operating licence. The regulator said it had previously verified the coverage model submitted by Free in November, and though it would look into the new claims, "no concrete element has been brought to the Authority's attention that would back up the allegations in the media, and repeated in the letter from the trade unions."
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