FRANCE FACES MORE DELAYS IN OPENING TELECOMS MARKET UP TO COMPETITION.

PositionIndustry Trend or Event

The dawn of 1 January 2001 was supposed to herald the launch of total competition on the French telecommunications market, but consumers are now likely to have to wait several more months before enjoying any benefits, owing to a lack of competitors ready to take up the endeavour and challenge France Telecom. The traditional operator lifted the lid on its last remaining monopoly on 1 January, opening private access to its local network. Two years after national and international communications, local calls and the high-speed Internet market (ADSL) have now fallen within the ambit of competition. The change remains purely theoretical for the present: all private operators accuse France Telecom of obstruction. Almost all have chosen to defer the launch of local service offers until the Spring. France's number two, Cegetel (Vivendi Universal), hopes to enter the scene in April. The Swedish operator Tele2 (Netcom), the most competitive operator on the long-distance market, is planning a launch in June.Criticism can be traced back to delays by France Telecom in providing competitors with all the information required to access its 12,000 local traffic relays, and to the exorbitant...

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