There are only 3 mobile licenses in France. They are trying to figure out how to auction out the 4th one.
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/27711.php
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/27711.php
That article is referring to Orange UK. How does that relate to the French market?
Also, even admitting for a moment that 4 is sooo much better than 3, in countries that have those 4 or 5 real carriers, how many of these cover all of the country? From what I gather, many US cities don't have that great a choice between carriers, and it gets worse for people who travel a lot (kinda like what we get in Europe when crossing borders).
There are only 3 mobile licenses in France. They are trying to figure out how to auction out the 4th one.
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/27711.php
So the question of increasing competition and thus potentially bringing better prices to the consumer seems to revolve around how much a fourth company will have to pay for the license and equipment and not simply whether or not there will be a fourth company, right? If Iliad or whomever is forced to pay the same fees as the others, there's no reason to think they will bring a better offer to the table than the existing companies, whose offers are virtually identical in terms of value.
No, that's not true.
The UK 3G auction got the highest license fees in the world (£22.5 billion)--- yet they have better tariffs than quite a few countries in Europe. The French government practically gave away some of the 3G licenses for pennies --- yet they have some of the highest tariffs in Europe.
According to this source and others, the big 3 here paid 4.5 billion Euros each for their 3G licenses:
http://mobilesociety.typepad.com/mobile_life/2006/10/do_cheap_3g_lic.html
According to this source and others, the big 3 here paid 4.5 billion Euros each for their 3G licenses:
http://mobilesociety.typepad.com/mobile_life/2006/10/do_cheap_3g_lic.html
The following article demonstrates a much better awareness of the complexities of pricing and market development in Europe than other articles I've read in English, even if it's a bit dated:
http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/husson/archives/2006/12/a_4th_3g_player.html
That was the original price that the French government decided, but lack of interests from the carriers pushed the price down to 619 million (plus a percentage of 3G service revenue).
http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/10/17/umts_ed3_.php
But since 3G service like video calling has been a complete dud, the French carriers aren't paying much beyond the original 619 million price tag.
PS: If you read the first comment of the blog post you cited, he was immediately corrected on his errors about French licensing fees.
And all the other comments that followed basically stated how uncompetitive the French mobile service market is.
As France's competition authority has ruled --- there was price collusion between the French carriers. 3 national carriers = uncompetitve market, which may lead to price collusion.
What we have here is the French government had all its priorities reversed. Setting up all these French simlocking laws that are totally useless (Apple should hire Dr. Evil from Austin Powers to do a commercial to announce the price of the unlocked iphone is 1 million dollars, then evil laughs). Meanwhile, Paris is burning because all the carriers are colluding in price.
Tell me more...there are several French entities that might be described in English as a 'competition authority.' Which one? What ruling and when? I'm not saying you're wrong, but you have a terrible habit of posting things, being called on them and then moving on like it didn't happen.
First, if the carriers were, as you claim, convicted of colluding in price, than they clearly aren't doing it anymore so why the present tense? Second, in what way does this represent a priorities problem, and third, why can't you admit that the situation is more complicated than there being a few laws you don't like causing cell phones to cost too much in a particular country? When it comes down to it, that's really my only point, and it's not too big of a claim.
It's not really complicated at all. When you have a country with 3 national carriers (all of them owned by French companies) and zero foreign competitors entering the French mobile telecom market --- that's how the price is so high.
I don't think this little argument is going anywhere, so to sum up: You think French cell phone rates are higher than other European countries solely and simply because of dimwitted simlocking laws and price collusion, while I say it's more complicated than that for the many reasons I've already posted. I don't have anything to add to that.
The world is full of complexities --- but the most effective solution to "consumer rights" is to introduce additional competition. All the other solutions are secondary.
Now, when introducing additional competition is not feasible, or at least when a government just can't make it happen by itself, regulation is a better alternative than just letting the situation rot. I prefer picking the second best solution to not doing anything at all.
Orange launched the iPhone in France last week and has sold 30,000 iPhones since that time. Due to French law, Orange is required to allow the phone to be unlocked 6 months after its purchase. In the meanwhile, however, they are allowing customers to pay an additional 100 euro to unlock their iPhone, no matter what plan they choose.
To recap, you can purchase the iPhone in France a number of ways:
399 euro = iPhone + 2 year "iPhone" Orange contract
549 euro = iPhone + any Orange contract
649 euro = iPhone with no contract
And for the first six months, a 100 euro add-on allows you to unlock your iPhone. Unlocking the iPhone allows it to accept SIM cards from any other network, though you would still be bound by the contractual obligations listed above. The early stats from Orange provides interesting information about customer interests.
Apparently, 20% of early iPhone purchasers have opted for this unlocked option. Meanwhile 1500 (~5%) paid for the 649 euro contract-less version. It's unclear how many of those paid for the official unlock, or opted for one of the many free hacks available. Finally, 48% of customers buying iPhones were new to the Orange network.
Article Link
The world is full of complexities --- but the most effective solution to "consumer rights" is to introduce additional competition.