Roaming: Orange will replicate to Bouygues Telecom and Free
With a 4G proposed by four operators and even some MVNO, french actors are today seeking to differentiate through roaming. Hostilities were opened, as usual, by Free includes calls and data to its package since the Portugal, the Antilles, French Guiana and the Italy, and this 35 days per year.
On Tuesday, Bouygues Telecom has massively counterattacked. If the limit of 35 days per year is the same, the roaming (calls and 3 GB of data) is allowed from all countries of Europe and the French overseas departments. A first.
The service applies to the subscribers of the feeling (from 3 GB per month) packages, which are charged from 29.99 euros per month, without smartphone and 36.99 euros with. Free is cheaper but offers less geographic coverage...
The roaming, often a source of high bills on vacation despite decreases in rates of large imposed by Europe, thus becomes a service cleaving where the challengers are BouyguesTel and Free Mobile now take the hand.
Data free
Impossible for competition to remain inactive and too bad for the still enormous margins generated by this service... Moreover, it seems that Bouygues has cut the grass under the Orange foot which has a similar offensive in its boxes.
In fact, according to comments relayed by La Tribune, Stéphane Richard, patron of the incumbent operator, announced this Monday at an internal meeting: "Orange will be the first operator to offer included traffic in all European countries where it is present".
But Orange is a big machine that has sometimes struggled to be reactive and has therefore made doubled by its competitor. Remains that the presence of the Telecom ex-France in many European countries will enable it to reduce the financial impact of this measure.
Side clients, based on indiscretions which were leaked on Twitter, the new rates, which will be presented Feb. 6 include well an envelope of data usable without additional cost from Europe and the French overseas departments. Volume and duration will vary depending on the offer.
On the other hand, calls from Europe would remain confined to high range packages. Which would make the proposal to mechanically less attractive Orange.