French government blamed for slow broadband roll out

NEWS A report, authored by civil servant Jean-Charles Bourdier, submitted to the French government yesterday, contained this warning along with 43 proposals for the roll out of high-speed technology. The Bourdier report calls on the government to act quickly and set an example by investing in broadband technology and to voluntarily start the roll out of equipment throughout France. Bourdier said: "Today, if private investment does not come, there will not be broadband technology throughout France - only in 25 per cent or at best 50 per cent of the territory." Christian Pierret, French secretary of state, was forced to agree. He said: "This report shows the interest of developing broadband and the importance of aiming for equality for all individuals, rich and poor, and all companies, big and small. "No region, no company, no individual should be barred from communicating, learning and living with the internet and, in particular, benefiting from broadband, which is indispensable for the speed of internet access and the development of ecommerce." The minister also announced that France Telecom, 64 per cent owned by the government, has agreed to lower its local call rates as part of a drive to encourage citizens to get online. However, to balance out the cut in rates, France Telecom revealed it would be increasing the price of fixed monthly charges by FF4.95 (45p) from 14 October. Ian Williams, analyst at Datamonitor, believes this to be a logical move. He said: "Operators never make money on local calls so there could be two possibilities why France Telecom has done this. The first is that this is another step to increase revenue in other areas such as ecommerce or trying to get people online. The other possibility is that this is a government decision. "When France Telecom cuts the cost of calls," he continued, "it promotes access to the internet and gives better access for businesses through broadband. It is a political decision, not just a telco one." A spokesman for France Telecom's rival, Cegetel, spoke out against the announcement. He said: "It is unacceptable that an operator can finance, even partially, the fall of tariffs in a supposedly open market, via a rise in telephone subscriptions." Cegetel claimed the market had to be more open and offer "a true alternative to the current monopoly on access". France Telecom said it would lower rates by five to six per cent from January, while daytime rates for private national calls will be cut by 25 per cent by October. In addition, the power to set rates for calls from fixed to mobile phones will be transferred to carriers from November in a bid to bring the price of incoming calls closer to the European average of FF1.5 (14p) a minute. France currently charges FF2.5 (24p) a minute.