Free (ISP)

Free
Type SAS
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 2002
Founder(s) Xavier Niel
Headquarters Paris, France
Area served France
Key people Xavier Niel, Maxime Lombardini, Rani Assaf, Antoine Levavasseur, Thomas Reynaud
Products

ISP
Services

Quadruple play
Owner(s) Iliad
Website free.fr

Free is a French ISP, which is a subsidiary of Iliad. It operates in France.

It was the first company to offer a "triple play" service in France,[1][2][3] through its self-produced singular Freebox set-top box. It claims to be the first company to have invented the box marketing concept in France,[4] in reference to all the other French ISPs, who thereafter released "triple play" modems named to include the anglicism box as a suffix. These boxes provide comprehensive telecommunication services, such as high-speed internet, telephone and digital television packages, leading to Free becoming the world's number one IPTV provider,[5][6] through almost systematic offering of IPTV to its subscriber and optimising it to be available on most landlines. Free is recognized as the broadband innovations driver in France,[7][8] and as the driver of competitive ISP offers in France[9][10] and in the 30 OECD countries.[11]

Contents

History

1999–2001: Network building and voiceband

See also: Dial-up internet access

Free was the third ISP in France to offer Internet access without a subscription or a surcharged phone number, on 26 April 1999.[12] Unlike its predecessors in the niche of access without subscription (World Online on 1999-04-01 and Freesurf on 1999-04-19), Free's offer was not restricted in time or number of subscribers.

In 2002, Free was the first ISP to provide a V.92 connection.[13]

Free dial-up offer milestones
Date Technology Down IP Up IP
1999-04-26[12] Voiceband 33.6 kbit/s 33,6 kbit/s
2002-02-27[13] V.92 56 kbit/s 33,6 kbit/s

2002-2003: ADSL at a disruptive price

Since September 2002, Free contributed significantly to French ADSL boom. The offer was able to launch as soon as the incumbent was forced to stop abuse of dominant position and to apply fair wholesale prices.[14]

Free bundled ADSL offer milestones
Date Technology Down ATM Up ATM
2002-09-19[1] ADSL 512 kbit/s 128 kbit/s
2003-12-12[15] ADSL 1024 kbit/s 128 kbit/s
2004-07-27[16] ADSL 2048 kbit/s 128 kbit/s
2005-02-09[17] ADSL 10 Mbit/s 320 kbit/s
2005-07-20[18] ADSL 10 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s
2008-03-20[19] ADSL2+ 22 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s

2004-2006: Unbundled ADSL and "triple play"

See also: Local-loop unbundling

Unbundling, in France, refers to the obligation for the incumbent carrier France Telecom to lease the Local loop, because it is a natural monopoly. Although the unbundling process was intended to start by 2000, the actual unbundling process actually started at the end of 2002, after a long conflict between the French regulation authority ARCEP and the non-cooperative incumbent.[20]

Free has to pay a rental fee of 9€ per month and per subscriber to the incumbent for the Twisted pair of Copper between the area central office and the subscriber premises.[21] Although more expensive than the real cost of 7.63€,[22] this solution is still far more profitable than the bundled option.

Since January 2003, a Freenaut has maintained an unofficial website showing figures and graphics about Free unbundled network deployment (Free Unbundling (French)). Another Freenaut website has provided network status monitoring maps (Unbundling status and location (French)) since the end of 2003. These initiatives are made possible thanks to the transparency of Free's network: their equipment replies to ping and has a meaningful reverse DNS.

Free unbundled ADSL offer milestones
Date Technologies Down ATM Up ATM
2003-11-27[3] ADSL 1024 kbit/s 256 kbit/s
2003-12-12[15] ADSL 2048 kbit/s 256 kbit/s
2004-06-04[23] ADSL 5 Mbit/s 350 kbit/s
2004-08-24[24] ADSL 6 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s
2004-10-20[25] ADSL2+ 15 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s
2005-01-06[26] ADSL2+ 20 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s
2005-11-08[27] ADSL2+ 24 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s
2006-07-26[28] 28 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s
2007-06-21[29] 28 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s

2007-present: Fiber to the home

See also: Fiber-optic communication
Free FTTH deployment milestones
Date Technology Down IP Up IP Deployment
2006-09-11[30] Iliad P2P[31] 50 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s One NRO and some testers in Paris
2007-08-31[32] Iliad P2P[31] 100 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s Some NROs and few subscribers in Paris[31]
2008-06-26[32] Iliad P2P[31] 100 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s Inauguration of Montpellier FTTH network[33]
2009-12-01[32] Iliad P2P[31] 100 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s Inauguration of Valenciennes FTTH network[34]

On 11 November 2006, Free announced the deployment of a new FTTH network for its subscribers.[30] The initial plan's goal is to cover Paris as well as some towns in the Paris suburbs and selected neighborhoods in other French cities by 2012. By December 2007, the work was 30% finished, and the remaining work was progressing "at a furious pace".[8]

On 31 August 2007, Free updated the offer with more details. Download bandwidth shall be 100 Mbit/s and TV services shall be available for two televisions, at the same price of 29.99€/month.[32]

Free has developed its own fiber network technology, called Iliad P2P, based on Ethernet in the First Mile and having a point to point (P2P) topology.[31] High curvature optic fibers are manufactured by the Dutch company Draka.[35][36]

The deployment is still essentially in the horizontal phase (the vertical phase being connection to the subscriber premises), and large-scale deployment to customers is foreseen.[37] On 26 June 2008, Maxime Lombardini and the mayor inaugurated Free's FTTH network in a district of Montpellier.[33]

On March 2008, Iliad made the commitment to cover Paris at 75% by the second semester of 2009, and reiterated its goal to connect 4 million French homes to its own FTTH network by 2012.[38] Significant volumes of subscribers will be connected as soon as the legislative framework is in place,[39] expected by ARCEP for autumn 2009.[40][41]

Offers

Voiceband

Extent

The Voiceband Dial-up internet access offer counts for a very small number of subscribers currently, as 98% of French homes were eligible for ADSL in 2006.[42]

Pricing

Free began his activities with the famous free-of-charge Internet access, although data phone calls fees are not included. Another offer combines an Internet access with 50 hours of data phone calls for 14.94 euros per month.

Freebox offer

Initially, Freebox was the name of the Freebox device, which consists of the Set-top box and Modem. Because of the device's popularity and reputation, it eventually became the name of the offer.

Services

Internet access

Early IPv6 deployment
See also: IPv6 and FreeWifi

According to a study published by Google at the RIPE meeting in October 2008, Free is probably the largest native IPv6 ISP in the World.[45] By end 2008, almost all French IPv6 traffic measured in the study comes from Free customers.[45]

Free deployed the IPv6 infrastructure in only 5 weeks, from 7 November to 11 December 2007, thanks to an innovative 6rd (IPv6 rapid deployment) proposal by Rémi Després.[44]

Wifi community network

Telephone

Included telephone calls
Included international phone calls
Date Number of destinations at no extra cost
Landline Mobiles
July 2003[2]

1 (Metropolitan France, unbundled subscribers only)

 0
March 2004[46]

1 (Metropolitan France, all subscribers since then)

 0
December 2005[47]

15 (Germany, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Spain, United States, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Singapore )

 2 (United States and Canada)
June 2006[48]

26 (Taiwan, Norway, Canary Islands, Jersey, Greece...)

 2
January 2007[49]

49 (Turkey, Poland, Luxembourg, Russia, Japan...)

 2
September 2007[50]

70 (Peru, Venezuela, South Korea, New Zealand...)

 2
February 2009[51][52]

100 (India, South Africa, Laos, Colombia, Indonesia...)

 2
December 2009[53]

103 (Morocco, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago)

 2

In 2003, Free introduced unlimited phone calls at no additional price, while other phone operators or ISPs charged per-minute fees for telephone calls.[2] Competitors have then been forced to imitate these changes, but with fewer destinations included or at an additional price.[7][10] Bundled Free subscribers enjoy same free calls as those unbundled since March 2004.[46] Calls to United States and Canada have been free of charge since December 2005.[47]

In 2006, Free and France Telecom were in conflict against an unfair increase of Neuf Cegetel own termination tariff, aimed at undermining unlimited phone offers in France. The French regulator ARCEP then decided to apply a threshold for call termination.[54] Unlimited free phone calls have been perennial in France since then.

Telephone services

A wide range of telephone services are provided at no additional cost, such as an online answering machine, ringback tone customization, call transfer, caller ID, inbound and outbound call filtering, conference calls, and Wi-Fi voice SIP.[55]

Since April 2007, each customer has been assigned a fax number in addition to the traditional phone number. This additional line is dedicated to the online faxing service.[56]

Television

IPTV leader

According to a study published in 2008 by Light Reading,[57] Free is by far the largest IPTV carrier in the World.[5] This fact is also confirmed by the TV Markets Quarterly Monitoring.[6]

ARDP protocol creator

Access rights of television channels are applied securely without requiring any smartcard, thanks to the ARDP protocol created by Free and submitted to the community through the IETF.

Other services

Corporate affairs

Market share

See also: Internet in France

Since August 2008, the parent company Iliad (including Free and Alice brands) is the second-largest ISP in France. The leader is Orange (former state monopoly company France Telecom), and the third is SFR.

In 2007 (a major consolidation year in the French broadband market), Free was the only ISP brand to gain market share.[60]

Free was the second-largest French ISP until end June 2007, when competitor Neuf Cegetel acquired Club Internet (T-Online France).[61] Neuf Cegetel used to grow essentially by purchasing its competitors, until it was itself absorbed by SFR. Until 2009, Free has always had a higher organic growth than Neuf Cegetel and SFR.[62]

Iliad regained its second place after buying "Alice Telecom" from Telecom Italia in the summer of 2008.[63]

Until the purchase of Alice France,[63] Free's subscribers growth was exclusively organic, except for the strategic acquisition of the Citéfibre FTTH ISP in 2006 (about 500 subscribers).[59]

Free broadband subscribers and market share since 2002
Year Free Broadband subscribers ADSL subscribers in France Broadband subscribers in France
Bundled Unbundled Total[64] Unbundling ratio Total[65] Free market share Total[65] Free market share
2002 95,000 3,000 98,000 3.1% 1,361,377 7.2%
2003 320,000 153,000 473,000 32.4% 2,967,434 15.9%
2004 500,000 549,000 1,049,000 52.4% 6,072,723 17.2% 6,529,997 16.0%
2005[66] 475,000 1,120,000 1,595,000 70.2% 8,881,875 17,9% 9,500,000 16,8%
2006[66] 548,000 1,730,000 2,278,000 75.9% 12,019,000 19.0% 12,700,000 17.9%
2007[37] 537,000 2,367,000 2,904,000 81.5% 14,741,000 19.7% 15,550,000 18.7%
2008[67] 901,132 3,323,868 4,225,000 78.7% 16,804,000 25.1% 17,819,000 23.7%
2009[68] 651,000 3,805,000 4,456,000 85.4% 18,500,000 24.1% 19,690,000 22.6%

Profitability

See also: Local-loop unbundling

Free claims to be the first profitable ISP in France[1] and to have the lowest subscriber acquisition cost amongst French operators.[66]

The unbundling ratio is one of the key strategic figures:

Because of bandwidth cost,[21] only a subset of the TV services is offered to bundled subscribers; while unbundled subscribers can access value-added services such as VOD and Subscription VOD. These services' revenues are constantly increasing.[39][69]

In 2007, Free had the greatest EBITDA margin of the sector in Europe, was the only actor to gain market share in France and had a debt ratio 10 times lower than the industry average. Thanks to these assets, the initial FTTH deployment (targeted at 2012) will be entirely self-financed by existing activities.[38]

Although investors are concerned about the investments in both the 3G mobile network and an FTTH network (1 billion euros each),[70] the perspectives of Free and of the whole sector in Europe are promising according to analysts.[71]

Logos and slogans

Year Slogan (translation) Original French slogan
1999 Freedom does not have a price La Liberté n'a pas de Prix
2007 It's all included C'est tout compris
2008 Without a doubt the best offer for some time Sans doute la meilleure offre depuis bien longtemps
2009 It's free, it's all included Il a Free, il a tout compris
2011 Feel Free[72]

Criticism

Culture

Disruptive

Free is the last independent operator in France. Google is sometimes suggested as a comparison for the Free spirit. Unlike all other French broadband ISPs, nearly everything is designed within the company: Freebox devices, DSLAMs, network switches and the backend billing system.[8] The company has a medium- and long-term industrial strategy rather than the short-term financial strategy of its competitors.[70]

Resist, persist and ignore the obstacles, are probably the greatest qualities of the culture of Free, a culture that has enabled this operator and its leaders to move forward and keep this company alive and leader, against all odds. Technologically, this is a company ready to make choices without worrying about what is happening around.
—Ariase[73]

Free is often designated by journalists as the "broadband maverick",[8] the "troublemaker of the Internet",[74] a "do-it-yourselfer",[7] a "pioneer in IPTV",[75] a "truly disruptive company",[10] the "geek's ISP", the "cactus of the telecoms",[76] the "Broadband Rebel", "one of the greatest French industrial successes of the last twenty years", a "Silicon Valley success story", a "Robin Hood", an "Uncle Scrooge", a "nightmare vision for Orange, SFR and Bouygues".[77]

Openness

The ISP, as well as its owner Xavier Niel, promote free and independent media, such as:

Corporate culture

Corporate culture appears obvious from these remarkable facts:

Popularity in France

"Freenaut" is the common designation for each internaut using the Internet through a Free connection. This community is estimated to reach between 10 and 12 million individuals as of March 2009.[90] The Freenaut community includes a core group of technology enthusiasts who contribute to Free's influence and popularity in several ways:

According to recurrent audience measurement reports conducted by Médiamétrie, Free's general portal is the fourth most popular website in France.[91][92][93] During peak load hours, Free accounts for nearly half the traffic on the Amsterdam Internet Exchange.[8]

See also

Companies portal
Internet portal
General
Services

References

  1. ^ a b c "Free launches unlimited broadband Internet at dial-up prices" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2002-09-19. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2002/CP_Free_190902.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  2. ^ a b c "Free introduces free telephone calls" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2003-07-31. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2003/cp_freeboxtel_310703.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  3. ^ a b "Free launches digital television" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2003-11-27. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2003/CP_Free_271103.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  4. ^ "New HD Freebox Released" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2006-04-19. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2006/CP_190406_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  5. ^ a b "Top Ten IPTV Carriers". 2008-01-14. http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=142594&page_number=11. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
  6. ^ a b "Top European IPTV drivers". 2008-03-11. http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/top-european-iptv-drivers/2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-10-30. 
  7. ^ a b c "The Telecom Exploits Of Iliad". 2005-12-05. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_49/b3962071.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Xavier Niel, France's Broadband Maverick". 2007-12-21. http://gigaom.com/2007/12/21/xavier-niel-free-fr/. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  9. ^ "Vive la High-Speed Internet". 2007-07-18. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2007/gb20070718_387052.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  10. ^ a b c "In Europe, VoIP Grows & Grows". 2009-03-06. http://gigaom.com/2009/03/06/in-europe-voip-grows-grows/. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  11. ^ "Multiple Play: Pricing and Policy Trends" (PDF) (Press release). OECD. 2006-04-25. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/32/36546318.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  12. ^ a b "Internet gratuit : Free, un indépendant sur le marché de la fourniture d'accès" (in French). 1999-04-27. http://www.journaldunet.com/99avril/990427free.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
  13. ^ a b "Free, accès en V92" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2002-02-27. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2002/CP_Free_270202.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  14. ^ "Price abuses by Wanadoo Interactive" (Press release). European Commission. 2003-07-16. http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consumers/map/cases/wanadoo_interactive_en.html. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  15. ^ a b "Free, disponible partout en France" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2003-12-12. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2003/cp_free_1212031.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  16. ^ "Free, 2 Mbit/s minimum sur toute la France" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2004-07-27. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2004/cp_Free_270704.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  17. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 10 Mbit/s pour les non dégroupés" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2005-02-09. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2005/Cp_090205.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  18. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 1 Mbit/s en upload pour les non dégroupés" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2005-07-20. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2005/cp_200705.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  19. ^ "Free offers up to 22 Mbps for the same price (29.99 euros a month) in non-unbundled areas" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-03-20. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2008/CP_200308_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
  20. ^ "Le dégroupage de la boucle locale" (in French). 2008-09-17. http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=8649. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  21. ^ a b c "Barcelona - TMT Conference Results and Strategy Presentation" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-11-21. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2008/Conference_MS_201108.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-04. 
  22. ^ "Actualité / Les titres de la presse du mardi 20 janvier 2009" (in French). ARCEP. http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=9912. 
  23. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 5 Mbit/s" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2004-06-04. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2004/CP_Free_20040604.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  24. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 6 Mbit/s" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2004-08-24. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2004/CPFree6MEGA.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  25. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 15 Mbit/s grace à l'ADSL2+" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2004-10-20. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2004/Cp_Free_201004.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  26. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 20 Mbit/s" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2005-01-06. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2005/cp_Free_060105.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  27. ^ "Free, jusqu'à 24 Mbit/s" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2005-11-08. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2005/Cp_0811053.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  28. ^ "Free is increasing its Internet bandwidth for unbundled Freebox subscribers, offering speeds up to 28 Mbit/s" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2006-07-26. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2006/CP_260706_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  29. ^ "Freebox: New Broadband Software is Optimizing the Quality of Triple Play Services" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-06-21. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/Cp_210607_DsSafe_en.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
  30. ^ a b "As of the 1st half 2007, Free will market a very high speed optical fibre service for 29.99€/month" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2006-09-11. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2006/CP_11092006_cp2_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  31. ^ a b c d e f "Pourquoi Free peine à déployer son réseau de fibre optique" (in French). 2007-10-31. http://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/internet/0,39020774,39375064,00.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  32. ^ a b c d "Free's FTTH Offer: Internet Access at a Speed of 100 Mbp/s, Telephony and TV Services Available on 2 Televisions for 29.99€/month" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-08-31. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/CP_310807_FTTH_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  33. ^ a b "Free inaugure le FTTH" (in French). 2008-06-26. http://www.freenews.fr/nat/6095-ftth-free-inaugure-le-ftth-mis-a-jour.html. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  34. ^ "Free unveiled today its FTTH (Fibre To The Home) network in Valenciennes, France" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2009-12-04. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2009/CP_041209_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  35. ^ "Rencontre avec Draka, le fibreur de Free" (in French). 2008-06-20. http://www.silicon.fr/fr/news/2008/06/20/rencontre_avec_draka_le_fibreur_de_free. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  36. ^ "La fibre optique se plie aux exigences parisiennes de Free" (in French). 2008-06-30. http://www.reseaux-telecoms.net/actualites/lire-la-fibre-optique-se-plie-aux-exigences-parisiennes-de-free-18444.html. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
  37. ^ a b "2007 Revenues" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-02-11. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2008/CP_110208_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  38. ^ a b "Interview Thomas Reynaud" (in French). 2008-03-14. http://www.easybourse.com/Website/interview/1071-thomas-reynaud-iliad.php. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  39. ^ a b "2007 Results: Press Release" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-03-12. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2008/CP_120308_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  40. ^ "ARCEP held a meeting with the main operators involved in optical fibre rollouts in France". ARCEP. 2009-01-20. http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=8571&L=1&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Buid%5D=1146&cHash=cf2792a168. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
  41. ^ "ARCEP defines the terms of optical fibre rollouts to stimulate investment". ARCEP. 2009-06-22. http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=8571&L=1&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Buid%5D=1177&cHash=a72424f18f. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
  42. ^ "ARCEP letter 52" (in French) (PDF). ARCEP. http://www.arcep.fr/uploads/tx_gspublication/lettre52.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  43. ^ "Free deploys IPv6" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-12-12. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/CP_IPv6_121207_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  44. ^ a b Després, Rémi (2010-01-25). "RFC 5569, 6rd - IPv6 Rapid Deployment". pp. 11. http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5569. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  45. ^ a b Gunderson, Steinar (2008-10-24). "Global IPv6 Statistics". pp. 20. http://www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-57/presentations/Colitti-Global_IPv6_statistics_-_Measuring_the_current_state_of_IPv6_for_ordinary_users_.7gzD.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  46. ^ a b "Unlimited Free National and Local Calls for All Free ADSL Subscribers !" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2004-03-18. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2004/CP-FREEBOXTEL180304VA.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  47. ^ a b "Free Phone Calls to the Most Frequently Called Countries with Freebox" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2005-12-15. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2005/cp_151205_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  48. ^ "Unlimited calls to landline numbers in Guadeloupe and Martinique included in the Freebox package" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2006-06-11. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2006/CP_090606_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  49. ^ "Unlimited calls to landline phones in 20 new international destinations and La Réunion included in the Freebox plan (29.99 euros per month)" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-01-19. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/CP_190107_en.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  50. ^ "21 new destinations included in the Freebox package" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-09-10. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/Cp_100907_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
  51. ^ "17 new destinations included in the Freebox flat rate package" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2009-01-13. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2008/CP_130109_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-13. 
  52. ^ "Téléphone illimité" (in French). Free. http://www.free.fr/adsl/telephone.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
  53. ^ "Free includes unlimited calls to Morocco !" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2009-12-22. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2009/CP_221209_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  54. ^ "Freebox: final confirmation that calls to landline numbers in France are to be free!" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2006-06-01. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2006/CP_010606_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  55. ^ "Services de téléphonie" (in French). Free. http://www.free.fr/adsl/pages/telephone/services-de-telephonie.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
  56. ^ "Freebox becomes also a fax" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-04-25. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/CP_250407_en.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
  57. ^ "French Dominate IPTV Top Ten". 2008-01-14. http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143074. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
  58. ^ "Univers Freebox teste Zimbra, le nouveau webmail des Freenautes" (in French). UniversFreebox. 2008-04-20. http://www.universfreebox.com/article5198.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
  59. ^ a b "Capacity of personal pages hosted by Free now 10 GB" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2006-06-21. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2006/CP_210606_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  60. ^ a b "2007 Results: Slide Show" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-03-12. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2008/ILIAD_RA_2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
  61. ^ "Neuf Cegetel Mass Market broadband customers top the 3 million mark" (PDF) (Press release). Neuf Cegetel. 2007-07-02. http://www.groupeneufcegetel.fr/dyn/File/2007_EN/070702CP-Club-Internet_EN.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
  62. ^ "SFR tient sa revanche sur Internet" (in French). 2009-09-01. http://www.challenges.fr/high_tech/20090901.CHA6879/sfr_tient_sa_revanche_sur_internet_par_gaelle_macke_cha.html. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
  63. ^ a b "Iliad has completed the acquisition of Alice France from Telecom Italia" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-08-26. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2008/CP_260808_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  64. ^ "Iliad annual reports". Iliad. http://www.iliad.fr. 
  65. ^ a b "High-speed Internet Observatory". ARCEP. http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=8764&L=1. 
  66. ^ a b c "2006 Revenues" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-02-07. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2007/CP_070207_CA_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  67. ^ "2008 Revenues" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2009-02-12. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2009/CP_120209_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  68. ^ "2009 Revenues" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2010-02-11. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2010/CP_110210_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  69. ^ a b c "3Q 2007 Revenues" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-10-29. http://www.iliad.fr/en/finances/2007/CP_291007_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  70. ^ a b "Iliad : des performances sans équivalents en Europe" (in French). 2009-03-20. http://fr.biz.yahoo.com/20032009/17/iliad-des-performances-sans-equivalents-en-europe.html. Retrieved 2009-03-30. 
  71. ^ "European Telecoms Operators in Strong Position to Ride Out Recession". 2009-03-10. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/European-Telecoms-Operators-bw-14591104.html. Retrieved 2009-03-30. 
  72. ^ "Free : Mr Easy remplace Rodolphe et change de slogan (vidéos)". 2011-01-05. http://www.pcinpact.com/actu/news/61178-free-mr-easy-rodolphe-feel-free-slogan.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
  73. ^ "Parler à Free, un plaisir hors de prix ?" (in French). 2009-02-09. http://www.ariase.com/fr/news/free-freeks-hotline-chatel-article-1969.html. Retrieved 2009-03-29. 
  74. ^ "Free, trublion de l'internet, pourrait aussi changer la donne côté mobile" (in French). 2009-01-14. http://www.24heures.ch/depeches/hi-tech/free-trublion-internet-pourrait-changer-cote-mobile. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
  75. ^ "Renowned Businessman and Visionary Founder of Free Telecom, Xavier Niel, Joins ATEME Board of Directors" (Press release). Ateme. 2007-03-14. http://www.ateme.com/press_releases_archives_detail.php5?id=29. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
  76. ^ "Xavier Niel, fondateur de Free, le cactus des télécoms" (in French). 2008-03-26. http://www.capital.fr/carriere/dossiers/xavier-niel-fondateur-de-free-le-cactus-des-telecoms-193693. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  77. ^ "Free, le rebelle du haut débit" (in French). 2009-03-23. http://www.lejdd.fr/cmc/economie/200913/free-le-rebelle-du-haut-debit_196361.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  78. ^ "Nolife, la télé qui réveille les geeks" (in French). 2009-02-12. http://www.ecrans.fr/Nolife-la-tele-qui-reveille-les.html. Retrieved 2007-03-06. 
  79. ^ "" Arrêt sur Images ", émission emblématique d'analyse du monde des médias renaît à la télévision sur Freebox TV !" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2008-12-02. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2008/CP_021208.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
  80. ^ "Free lance son service de musique à la demande illimitée et gratuite avec Deezer.com" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-08-23. http://www.iliad.fr/presse/2007/CP_230807.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
  81. ^ "TV Perso Freebox: With Freebox, HD Free subscribers can create their own television channel" (PDF) (Press release). Iliad. 2007-06-28. http://www.iliad.fr/en/presse/2007/CP_280607_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
  82. ^ "Edwy Plenel lance " Mediapart "" (in French). 2008-03-16. http://www.lesoir.be/la_vie_du_net/actunet/internet-un-site-d-informatio-2008-03-16-584671.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  83. ^ "Bakchich lève 330 000 euros et vise l'équilibre d'ici six mois" (in French). 2009-02-26. http://www.bakchich.info/Bakchich-leve-330-000-euros-et.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  84. ^ "Xavier Niel soutient la presse alternative en ligne" (in French). 2009-02-12. http://www.journaldunet.com/breve/france/35109/xavier-niel-soutient-la-presse-alternative-en-ligne.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  85. ^ "Xavier Niel, founder of Iliad / free.fr joins vpod.tv Advisory Board". 2008-07-21. http://blog.vpod.tv/2008/07/xavier-niel-fou.html. Retrieved 2009-03-30. 
  86. ^ "Google et Free, de vieilles connaissances" (in French). 2008-09-13. http://www.lefigaro.fr/lefigaromagazine/2008/09/13/01006-20080913ARTFIG00089--google-et-free-de-vieilles-connaissances-.php. Retrieved 2009-03-29. 
  87. ^ "Curiosité de routage email free.fr" (in French). FRnOG. 2009-06-10. http://www.mail-archive.com/frnog@frnog.org/msg06027.html. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
  88. ^ "ARCEP letter 65" (in French) (PDF). ARCEP. January 2009. http://www.arcep.fr/uploads/tx_gspublication/lettre65.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-29. 
  89. ^ "Clin d'oeil : Un paquet de Freebox à fumer" (in French). UniversFreebox. 2009-04-29. http://www.universfreebox.com/article7958.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29. 
  90. ^ "Chilipoker parie sur l'ouverture du marché des jeux en ligne" (in French). 2009-03-09. http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/economie/chilipoker-parie-sur-l-ouverture-du-marche-des-jeux-en-ligne_746091.html. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
  91. ^ "L'audience de l'Internet en France en novembre 2008" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Médiamétrie. 2009-01-13. http://www.mediametrie.fr/fichier.php?fichier_id=714&element_id=621&module=resultats. Retrieved 2009-01-13. 
  92. ^ "L'audience de l'Internet en France en décembre 2008" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Médiamétrie. 2009-02-03. http://www.mediametrie.fr/fichier.php?fichier_id=723&element_id=629&module=resultats. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
  93. ^ "L'audience de l'Internet en France en février 2009" (in French) (PDF) (Press release). Médiamétrie. 2009-04-09. http://www.mediametrie.fr/fichier.php?fichier_id=743&element_id=647&module=resultats. Retrieved 2009-04-29. 

Further reading

External links

In English
In French