- Telecommunications Services and Equipment (Best Prospect 2009: U.S. Commercial Service)
- Telecoms in France (Invest in France)
- Call centers in France (Invest in France)
- Telecommunications in Provence (Provence Promotion)
- IT & Telecom in Northern France (Invest in Northern France)
CELLULAR TELEPHONY
FRANCE CURRENTLY OFFERS SOME EXCITING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN
THE AREA OF CELLULAR TELEPHONY. LIBERALIZED SINCE 1987, THE
MARKET FOR TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES MARKET HAS GROWN MORE
RAPIDLY IN FRANCE THAN IN ANY OTHER NATION. IN SEPTEMBER 2001,
THE SUBSTANTIAL PRESENCE OF MOBILE PHONES ON THE FRENCH MARKET
WAS MANIFESTED BY THE FACT THAT 36 MILLION FRENCH WERE
SUBSCRIBERS TO MOBILE SERVICE, WHILE ONLY 35 MILLION POSSESSED A
LANDLINE SUBSCRIPTION. INDUSTRY SOURCES PREDICT FURTHER INCREASES
IN THIS 62 PERCENT PENETRATION RATE, EXPECTING A BOOST TO THE
MARKET FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF 3G TECHNOLOGY, THE ADOPTION OF
BETTER WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE, AND THE GROWTH OF MOBILE
COMMERCE (M-COMMERCE).
ORANGE, THE WIRELESS SUBSIDIARY OF FRANCE'S INCUMBENT OPERATOR,
FRANCE TELECOM, CURRENTLY CONTROLS 50 PERCENT OF THE MARKET. AS
THE MARKET NEARS ITS SATURATION POINT, OPERATORS SHOULD BEGIN TO
SHIFT THEIR FOCUSES IN TERMS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, THAT IS, RATHER
THAN IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES AIMED AT ATTRACTING CONSUMERS,
OPERATORS WILL OFFER SERVICES GEARED TOWARDS THE MAINTENANCE OF
BUSINESS WITH THEIR STRONGEST CUSTOMERS. IN ADDITION,
TELECOMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING TO DEVELOP NEW
REVENUE SOURCES, SINCE THE AVERAGE REVENUE PER USER CONTINUES TO
DECLINE AND DEBT MOUNTS AS A RESULT OF INVESTMENT IN 3G
LICENSES.
THE ARRIVAL OF UMTS (UNIVERSAL MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS)
REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FRENCH MOBILE
MARKET. UMTS, THE THIRD GENERATION (3G) OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY, WOULD PROVIDE USERS WITH A 2 MB/SEC CONNECTION TO THE
HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AMONG OTHER CAPABILITIES. WITHIN THE NEXT 10
YEARS, ANALYSTS FORECAST A GLOBAL MARKET FOR 3G TECHNOLOGY
CONSISTING OF MORE THAN 2 BILLION SUBSCRIBERS AND WORTH OVER USD
1 TRILLION. CURRENTLY, THE FRENCH TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION
AUTHORITY (ART) HAS AWARDED 3G LICENSES TO CEGETEL'S SFR AND FT'S
ORANGE. BOUYGUES TELECOM, FRANCE'S THIRD LARGEST MOBILE OPERATOR,
HAS PARTNERED WITH THE JAPANESE FIRM NTT DOCOMO AND PLACED A BID
FOR THE THIRD OF FOUR AVAILABLE CONTRACTS. WHILE THE WIDE-SCALE
AVAILABILITY OF UMTS REMAINS A FEW YEARS OFF AND THE INITIAL
RELEASE DATE HAS ALREADY PASSED, ART BELIEVES THAT THIS THIRD
GENERATION TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN DEVELOPING ON SCHEDULE IN
FRANCE.
MOBILE COMMERCE (M-COMMERCE) REPRESENTS ANOTHER AREA OF EXPECTED
GROWTH ON THE FRENCH TELECOM MARKET. EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT THE
M-COMMERCE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE WILL INVOLVE NOT SIMPLY THE
MOBILIZATION OF EXISTING APPLICATIONS, BUT ALSO HUGE PROGRESS IN
TERMS OF PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AS WELL AS THE ENHANCEMENT OF
RELATIONSHIPS AND TRANSACTIONS BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY.
GLOBALLY, BY 2005, THE NUMBER OF WIRELESS INTERNET DEVICES WILL
REACH 1.5 BILLION, WITH PURCHASES FROM THESE DEVICES TOTALING USD
110 BILLION. AS ADVANCES SUCH AS UMTS INCREASE THE CAPABILITIES
OF MOBILE PHONES, FRENCH CONSUMERS WILL RELY ON THEIR CELLULAR
PHONES FOR MORE FUNCTIONS THAN EVER BEFORE.
AUTHOR: MYRLINE MIKAL
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