In brief: French firm offers voice services over cable network

NEWS French television company Canal+ is planning to offer telephone services over its cable network. According to reports, the Bank of America and GE Capital are closely involved in the scheme which will offer voice services over cable network subsidiary, Numericable. Numericable holds more than 25 per cent of the domestic French cable market, and in February this year, Canal+ announced a joint venture with America Online, Bertelsman and Cegetel to provide Internet services over the network. A move to offer voice services would give it a full multimedia offering and add weight to the company's fight against rival France Telecom.