The state is on track to win their bet on the financial 4G mobile frequencies after a first series of which reported more than expected and, according to experts, suggests an aggressive posture in the second round by operators who have not had the expected number of lots.
To position themselves in this new technology is considered crucial to the services of the future mobile internet, Orange, Free, SFR and Bouygues have already put 936 million euros in total on the table in the first two rounds of betting, then that the state had set a floor price of 700 million.
They are preparing now to submit by mid-December record for the second round, the government expects at least 1.8 billion euros and this time on frequencies known as “gold”, deemed superior by the experts because they can cover great distances.
While all operators have not had the number of lots that they hoped the first round, the tension may well go up a notch in the second part of the auction, say experts and industry leaders.
“There are big challenges ahead of the auction,” said a source sector which declined to be named.
Operators who attempt to anticipate such a catch-up from their competitors could turn bet big to avoid being in the bottom.
“We believe that there are risks that the prices paid by operators are well beyond the reserve price,” said Stephane Schlatter, an analyst at Santander.
Several analysts have pointed qu’Iliad was demarcated in the first round of the auction, winning the lot of 20 MHz to SFR and signaling the seriousness of its ambitions in the mobile, a few months of launching the first commercial offering of Free Mobile.
“The surprise (first round) is that Free has won one of two lots of 20 MHz and thus enters it with the big boys”, says Eric Debroeck, Director of Regulatory Affairs of France Telecom.
The manager said he was “satisfied” with the prize won by Orange. Free Mobile has for his “glad to be with the incumbent candidate best equipped 4G spectrum.” 4G technology, which will allow faster speeds on mobile networks at a time when new uses such as video on smartphones are exploding data traffic, is considered crucial in the evolution of the telecom competitive landscape French.
Owning more spectrum for 4G operator means that it can differentiate itself by offering higher flow rates and improved quality of service. Bouygues Telecom has meanwhile found that having won a lot of 15 MHz was “good news” for him. “This allows us to consider mobile broadband in good shape,” said Didier Casas, the general secretary of the group, which is the third mobile operator in France.