PARIS (Reuters) - Internet service provider (ISP) AOL on Thursday launched a fresh push into the French broadband market, with new products aimed at securing its place in Europe's most competitive high-speed Internet environment.
The U.S. company, a unit of media group Time Warner, unveiled a 15-20 million-euro marketing campaign and a new wireless broadband connection box, unique to France, that it hopes will help it retain its 9 percent share of the market.
"France is where competition is the most intense, prices are the lowest and services are the most advanced," Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, head of AOL France, told a news conference.
The company said it had 1.2 million Internet subscribers in France, of which 520,000 were high-speed Internet customers.
In the U.S., AOL has made its Internet portal, chat and e-mail services a key plank of its growth strategy, but in France has had to revamp and upgrade its connection services to keep up with competition.
AOL's fresh push into France follows similar efforts by Telecom Italia, Deutsche Telekom, Neuf Cegetel and France Telecom which all announced new broadband services in recent months to win market share.
The telecom operators compete with ISP Iliad, the first to introduce "triple play" in France -- high speed Internet, telephony and television over phone lines -- which is now becoming the norm.
Iliad, which introduced triple play in November 2002, ranks second behind France Telecom but it is struggling to maintain its 17 percent share of the French ISP market.
MAKING MONEY
After burning cash for several years, AOL France said it had become profitable in July at the level of earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and would become cash-flow positive by the end of 2005.
"We are no longer a problem for our shareholder (Time Warner)," D'Asaro Biondo said.
The company declined, however, to provide details on its past and present financial performance.
AOL France said it wished also to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) but had failed to implement an agreement, signed earlier this year, with SFR, France's number two mobile operator.
"We have resumed discussions with SFR and others, and we are hoping to sign an agreement before the end of the year," d'Asaro Biondo said.
ARE THEY ALL THE SAME?
AOL launched a service that includes a wireless high-speed Internet connection through the new box, free local and national phone calls, e-mail, anti-spam and anti-virus software for 29.90 euros a month.
Its offer matches that of Iliad, which charges 29.99 euros a month, and Telecom Italia which charges 29.95 euros, though the terms differ somewhat.
AOL said it hoped the new broadband box and the wide range of services its Internet portal offered would make it stand out in the crowed French ISP market.
"As we arrived later than others, we needed to differentiate ourselves," d'Asaro Biondo said.
AOL France said it aimed to sell 60,000 of its new broadband boxes by the end of the year and added the box could later be adopted in Britain and Germany, where it also operates.
It said its new service offer in France would include several TV channels in the next three to four months.
As opposed to Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telekom, which have said they would build their own network in France, AOL opted for renting capacity from rival Neuf Cegetel.
"We agreed on a price that allows us to be competitive," D'Asaro Biondo said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/wr_nm/telecoms_france_aol_dc;_ylt=AniSXf6jKdiq0WmQZ6f3RMUjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
The U.S. company, a unit of media group Time Warner, unveiled a 15-20 million-euro marketing campaign and a new wireless broadband connection box, unique to France, that it hopes will help it retain its 9 percent share of the market.
"France is where competition is the most intense, prices are the lowest and services are the most advanced," Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, head of AOL France, told a news conference.
The company said it had 1.2 million Internet subscribers in France, of which 520,000 were high-speed Internet customers.
In the U.S., AOL has made its Internet portal, chat and e-mail services a key plank of its growth strategy, but in France has had to revamp and upgrade its connection services to keep up with competition.
AOL's fresh push into France follows similar efforts by Telecom Italia, Deutsche Telekom, Neuf Cegetel and France Telecom which all announced new broadband services in recent months to win market share.
The telecom operators compete with ISP Iliad, the first to introduce "triple play" in France -- high speed Internet, telephony and television over phone lines -- which is now becoming the norm.
Iliad, which introduced triple play in November 2002, ranks second behind France Telecom but it is struggling to maintain its 17 percent share of the French ISP market.
MAKING MONEY
After burning cash for several years, AOL France said it had become profitable in July at the level of earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and would become cash-flow positive by the end of 2005.
"We are no longer a problem for our shareholder (Time Warner)," D'Asaro Biondo said.
The company declined, however, to provide details on its past and present financial performance.
AOL France said it wished also to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) but had failed to implement an agreement, signed earlier this year, with SFR, France's number two mobile operator.
"We have resumed discussions with SFR and others, and we are hoping to sign an agreement before the end of the year," d'Asaro Biondo said.
ARE THEY ALL THE SAME?
AOL launched a service that includes a wireless high-speed Internet connection through the new box, free local and national phone calls, e-mail, anti-spam and anti-virus software for 29.90 euros a month.
Its offer matches that of Iliad, which charges 29.99 euros a month, and Telecom Italia which charges 29.95 euros, though the terms differ somewhat.
AOL said it hoped the new broadband box and the wide range of services its Internet portal offered would make it stand out in the crowed French ISP market.
"As we arrived later than others, we needed to differentiate ourselves," d'Asaro Biondo said.
AOL France said it aimed to sell 60,000 of its new broadband boxes by the end of the year and added the box could later be adopted in Britain and Germany, where it also operates.
It said its new service offer in France would include several TV channels in the next three to four months.
As opposed to Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telekom, which have said they would build their own network in France, AOL opted for renting capacity from rival Neuf Cegetel.
"We agreed on a price that allows us to be competitive," D'Asaro Biondo said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/wr_nm/telecoms_france_aol_dc;_ylt=AniSXf6jKdiq0WmQZ6f3RMUjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
