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Broadband Access
Digiworld 2007: Vivendi launches Illimythics, reveals "Zaoza"
CEO commits to flat-rate data tariffs, unveils entertainment portal
by Iain Morris
Jean Bernard Levy, the CEO of Vivendi, has revealed plans to
launch new flat-rate mobile tariffs and a multimedia portal in
advance of presenting the company’s latest earnings
announcement.
Speaking at the Digiworld 2007 summit being hosted in
Montpellier, France, Levy boasted his commitment to what he
calls “unmetered mobile access” as SFR, a French mobile
operator owned by Vivendi, launched a new service called
Illimythics.
SFR says customers of Illimythics will be able to choose from
a range of tariffs bundling voice minutes with unlimited data
access. For the first 24 months of a contract, subscribers will
get 120 voice minutes for €39 per month, 180 minutes for
€49 per month and 350 minutes for €69 per month. The cost
of each package will rise by €10 after the end of that 24-
month period.
The launch coincides with the release of six new multimedia
handsets that will be made available to Illimythics customers
at discounted rates until 1 January 2008. These include the
Nokia N95 GB (available for €299), the HTC Touch Dual
(€199), the LG KS20 (€49), the LG Viewty (€49), the Sony
Ericsson W910 (€49) and the Samsung SGH-F700 (€99).
Like many of its peers, SFR seems to be turning its back on
usage-based pricing as it tries to encourage take-up of data
services.
But analysts have also interpreted Illimythics as the
operator’s response to the imminent launch of the iPhone by
French incumbent Orange, which recently struck an agreement
with iPhone manufacturer Apple to be the exclusive distributor
of the new handset in France.
Unlike the iPhone, the devices being offered with Illimythics
work on high-speed 3G networks, which Levy sees as a big
advantage for SFR.
He says the operator’s HSDPA (a high-speed version of 3G)
network now covers 70 percent of the French population, and
believes that has helped make SFR the market leader — with
an estimated 60 percent market share — in Paris and some of
France’s other big cities.
Illimythics, however, has already come in for criticism from
some quarters. “The terms and conditions include many
limitations to the unlimited usage of mobile data,” says
Vincent Poulbere, an analyst with Ovum. “For example,
unlimited browsing is only allowed for browsing on the WAP
portal and Internet sites [and not for some] downloads and
[other] services.”
Poulbere thinks the offer is too complex and also attacks
SFR’s plan to hike rates by €10 after the first 24 months of a
contract. “[It’s] a weird way to reward customers for their
loyalty,” he says.
Nevertheless he is generally upbeat about the new service,
describing it as “tougher” competition for the iPhone than has
emerged in the States, where AT&T is the exclusive distributor
of the handset.
Poulbere also thinks Illimythics will pave the way towards the
introduction of full flat-rate data access by SFR.
New mobile entertainment portal
Levy also revealed that Vivendi is on the cusp of launching a
new multimedia portal called Zaoza.
Although he would not divulge any details, he said Zaoza will
give users access to a wide range of entertainment products
offered by Vivendi and hinted it might also include some
element of “social networking” — the phenomenon that has
made start-ups like MySpace and Facebook some of the most
highly valued stocks in the ICT sector.
“I don’t want to say too much at this stage, but it’s a major
project by Vivendi and a fabulous concept,” says Levy. “It will
create a platform for a huge number of users.”
Such a platform would provide Vivendi with an opportunity to
sell many of the entertainment services offered by its
subsidiaries, which include French cable channel Canal+ as
well as Universal.
Zaoza will be made available to mobile customers as well as
on PCs, says Levy.
He also announced that SFR is working to introduce a range
of new services, which will include an application that bundles
instant messaging with GPS functionality so that users can
easily determine where their friends are at a particular
moment in time.
In addition, it aims to provide customers with access to
Google maps on mobile phones — a service that only
Blackberry users currently enjoy.
Levy denied that Google’s growing interest in the mobile
sector posed a threat to Vivendi’s margins. “We don’t see
Google as a competitor but as a partner,” he says. “Its plans
are positive for us.”
Google recently unveiled “Android,” a new operating system
for mobile phones. But while some operators have been
drawn into its Open Handset Alliance, which supports the
software, others have steered clear of the group.
Some analysts believe big operators like AT&T and Verizon
see Google as a potential rival on the mobile Internet.
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