The lowest price is not necessarily the best

Sentenced in November 2005 to pay 534 mil - lion euros for will be "heard" in a "Yalta" aimed at maintaining their respective market shares, the three major French operators which share the cash of the mobile phone really did repent Nothing is less sure. Despite the confirmation of assent in July 2007, Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom are not far from re-offending today in chorus with the slogan "TSF"... "anything but Free."

On the eve of the presentation of applications for the 4th mobile license provided on 29 October, the triumvirate active behind the scenes to derail the arrival of a new operator that, in all likelihood, should be Free. Nicknamed the "troublemaker of the Internet", the inventor of the offer "triple play" (fixed Internet television) to 29.99 euros, is strong to divide by two the mobile in France prices! Boast The perspective is in any case shiver installed three operators. They are indeed accustomed themselves to achieve gross margins... very comfortable (30 to 40!). And with the iPhone and the mobile Internet boom, they hope to continue to take advantage of the constant progress of the Arpu average revenue per subscriber - which reached 39 euros in 2008 and flirts with the 45 euros today. One of the highest in Europe...

To maintain the oligopoly, the "band of the three" - as it is called Free - not working hard. And that seems to pay... September 15, General stupor of UMP deputies from lunch at the Elysee, Nicolas Sarkozy suddenly declared its hostility to the arrival of a "troublemaker" of the mobile: "I am skeptical and reserved on the choice of a fourth operator." The lowest price is not necessarily the best. We must see the quality of applicants. "A real Scud against Free, who previously was the odds-on favorite in the competition launched on August 1. Bouygues, SFR and Orange have enjoyed the moment. But presidential exit has not really been pleased to the Prime Minister, partisan with Arcep (Constable of telecoms) of a real decline in the prices of the motive for the benefit of the consumer. "Release" recently reported this Spades which have launched by François Fillon, Nicolas Sarkozy: "Mr President, the three operators you mentioned, are those which tell you three months ago that they are very"...

In the meantime, of what seems be a support of the Elysee Palace, the anti-Free lobby therefore redoubles efforts to put a spoke in the wheels of the new entrant. Well ground, its rationale in four points through policymakers, Parisian editors, consumer associations... This gives in substance:

1. "The price of the licence has been" discounted"to EUR 240 million" (against 619 million paid by each of the operators in place); It is the heritage of the State that is balance. Thesis recently advocated by the CEO of Vivendi (SFR), Jean-Bernard Lévy in "Les echos". It is questionable. For this award, the 4th operator would, initially, that 5 MHz of frequency available, against 15 MHz each) for the other three.

2. "A 4th operator is the insured social carnage": a year ago, Martin Bouygues, always in "Les echos", did not hesitate to encrypt "between 10,000 and 30,000" jobs that will be destroyed in the three mobile operators by the arrival of a competitor who will be pressure on prices, so the costs. And after a 24th suicide in eighteen months, France Telecom inevitably sees Free as a factor of additional stress for its already well proven troops. As equipment manufacturer Alcatel, he was concerned that the champion of the "low cost" may choose to provide to a Chinese as Huaweï or ZTE...

3. "The price of the mobile are already quite low in France", provides the triumvirate the hand on the heart. They would even "the lowest in Europe". However, for the Commission European, France would be one of the countries of the Continent where the mobile is the most expensive just behind the Spain with an average 30 euros for 2 hours and 50 SMS... In fact, if the Arpu reaches 45 euros, it is well with a tariff jungle regularly denounced by consumer associations. And the invoice has a tendency to fly for the owners of iPhone: it would reach 86 euros!

4. "Free is the cuckoo on the network of other operators. The charge is not new. Free has built its success in the ADSL in is sucked into the breach of "unbundling", the law requiring the operator to provide alternative operators access to the local loop (the last few metres of copper up to the Subscriber). Limiting its investments in infrastructure, the new entrant was able to break the price and launch its famous offer to 29.99 euros. But in the case of the 4th mobile license, Free will be a duty of 25 coverage of the territory in three years, which will return to install 6,000 antennas. But the three operators in place already suspect the new entrant to come play in the "cuckoo" on their towers...

This lobbying is in the order of things. After all, TF1 had well drafted a white paper"to ask - and get - the removal of the France television advertising. Xavier Niel, the founder of Free, also is not itself a child of choir. It has excellent relays in the media and political circles. And if it presents itself as the "Robin Hood" mobile, his group is known to be the champion of "low cost" and customer service to absent subscribers... But in a normally constituted market economy, there is something surprising to see three heavy weight of the CAC 40 is thus aiming to kill all competition in the egg. To the point, said, to encourage by all means apply alternative to the somewhat Motley 4elicence about Virgin Mobile, the cable operator Numéricable... or even Egyptian Naguib Sawiris telecoms mogul. That is decidedly "anything but Free."