World and National News

While the Internet has become as indispensable as water or electricity, Pierre Danon, CEO of Numericable, announced that the cable operator will introduce a social tariff, responding to the request of the Prime Minister.

LE FIGARO. – For 9.99 euros per month, which will service the right customers?

Pierre Danon. – The Prime Minister had asked the operators a triple play package of around 20 euros for the poor. Numericable goes beyond and offers 9.99 euros a month for 60 channels of television (DTT channels and a selection of foreign channels), Internet access at 2 Mbps and unlimited calls in metropolitan France.There are two requirements to be eligible for this offer: being beneficiary of the RSA or disabled adult allowance and live in housing benefit service unique digital Numericable.

Will you receive compensation from the state?

The universal service fund, managed by the Caisse des depots, should pay a subsidy of 4.21 euros per month per subscriber to Numericable. This package will therefore revert to 5.99 euros a month to subscribers, 4 euro is already included in the charges. I sent a letter yesterday with the offer to Prime Minister, Arcep and services Bercy. If they approve our offer within two months we could launch it this summer.

What advantage Numericable?

It is primarily a historical constant of the cable as being involved in social housing and community.On the other hand, Numericable, who will work with municipalities and departments on this job should be able to equip a large number of new homes. Some customers take the social tariff, but others choose our offerings more upscale. I think that with this offer we can win new customers. We are now at 25% market share on the recruitment of new Internet subscribers. This should enable us to progress further. Not to mention that in dealing with public housing offices, Numericable reduces acquisition costs and delinquency risks.

You had already launched in November offer "low cost" to 19.90 euros. What is the result?

This offer works very well. It represents approximately one third of our new subscribers. Auchan is also to engage the clutch on this niche, because there is a real logic to segment the market.They are not social but tender offers "low-cost targeted. For example, many people do not use the TV service yet they pay their standard Internet package at 30 euros a month. We must stop the dictatorship of the package at 30 euros, which was a stroke of genius Free, but has not moved for four years.

After Darty and Auchan Bouygues Telecom, will you welcome new operators on your fiber network?

We are in discussions with various partners, but he must first deal with the influx of new customers for our partners. Auchan has trained 1 200 hypermarkets in 72 vendors!

The picture improves Numericable does to customers?

Yes. Having been a champion of consumer complaints, admittedly, we're totally out of radar DGCCRF.The service was bad a year ago, we made a lot of work, it is now correct. And we will still improve.

Having renounced the 4th license, what are your plans in the mobile?

Our priority remains the fiber. On the mobile, we are virtual network operator Bouygues Telecom. We will soon launch a 3G and a key card offer prepaid. But we do not support the pedal fully, because we can not afford to spend millions of euros to acquire a subscriber base.In 2010-2011, Numericable focuses on profitable growth.

Are you still handicapped by the weight of your debt?

Having renegotiated our debt with the bankers in November, we loosened the noose and we are perfectly comfortable with our deadlines for repayment of 1.5 billion euros by 2014.

The connected TV is it a concern for you, whose job is to aggregate a bunch of strings?

It is a subject that we anticipated early 2009 with our range of interactive TV "2.0", and we continue to invest. We have discussions with several manufacturers of televisions. In April, Numericable present its first applications in the form of widgets available on the TV screen.We will launch thematic portals (youth, sports, entertainment …) which will become real media capable of guiding the client and recommend programs.

Photo credits: Le Figaro

The blame for the situation that threatens the morale of households and owners who do not sell. Despite lower prices by 4.9% in 2009 and interest rates lower, the French believe that this is not the right time to buy. According to the Ifop survey presented Tuesday by the National Federation of Real Estate (FNAIM), 76% of potential buyers find that prices are too high and 51% it is difficult to obtain credit.

At these fears including rising unemployment, compounded by the lack of property: 60% of potential purchasers can not find property they like. "Many owners receive their property from the market because falling prices have made conditions unfavorable to sellers," admits the Fnaim comprising 13,000 agencies. Only 11% of owners consider that the time is ripe to sell.

600,000 sales in 2010

Despite these very encouraging indicators, Rene Pallincourt, President Fnaim wants to believe. "The crisis is behind us, we are in the period of crisis," says he, adding that this period would be "more or less long. Counting on the sustainability of the tremor recorded in December 2009, he believes in a modest recovery in 2010 which confirmed in 2011.

"There will be no sharp rebound but with low interest rates, purchase conditions improved particularly for households with incomes of about 3,000 euros. More buyers have incorporated that prices will fall more and the period of speculation on the price decline is over, "explains Fnaim. For her, the prices will undergo changes from -3% to +3%, while the value of property in the affected employment areas or remote areas may still fall.

Rene Pallincourt remains optimistic and expects a global increase in sales in 2010. If estimated at 550,000 the total number of transactions in France in 2009, he expects 600,000 in 2010. Estimates superior to those of notaries and the branch network Century 21.

ALSO READ:

"Real Estate: interest rates are determinants

"Housing loans: lower interest rates marking time

"Real estate: the recovery is expected in 2010

The "Teorem" Thales is not a math problem. The Telephone Network Cryptography for state and military, made by Thales, is exclusively for heads of state and military, for its qualities in terms of security of confidentiality. RTL radio this morning reminded the many business-related policies tapping conversations with enemy states as well as by allies. With encryption, the conversations transmitted by Teorem can escape from such plays.

In moving in Cholet, Maine-et-Loire, to present his greetings to economic forces, the President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy will go through the factory, where 850 employees are working on making this phone. The terminals will exchange sensitive information secrecy protection.Only two companies in the world are able to produce such a device.

In 2010, the Head of State, representatives of ministries and military staffs will have the 14,000 copies ordered by France in March (price not known at this time).

To ensure the security of sensitive communications that must relay any lost or stolen device will be excluded from the network.

The first results of the survey of 102,000 employees of France Telecom are falling, and they are not in favor of the operator. "Felt generally very degraded", "weakening the physical and mental health of some employees'" work atmosphere tense, even violent "are some of the findings prepared by the firm specializes Technologia at the end of the investigation since mid-October in France Telecom. A summary of 75 pages which had access to the Associated Press was delivered Monday morning to both management and unions of the operator.

They were more than 80,000 employees of the group or 77.9% to the questionnaire prepared by Technologia, Workforce oldest in the company and the most experienced showing particularly concerned.

"A functional mobility badly accompanied"

The summary report shows the "strong concerns" of employees surveyed, with the consequence including the loss of the "pride of belonging to France Telecom" and "felt generally very degraded." They were in fact 96% say that proud of this membership cons only 39% today. The difficult working conditions, with a "weakening of the physical and mental health", mainly those in charge of sales and "interventions customers.

More generally, the investigation reveals a "functional mobility badly together," and a "geographical mobility of non-sensitive framework, thus confirming an earlier observation made by many employees.In total they are 55% declare themselves "somewhat dissatisfied" on a professional level, and 65% believed that their working conditions have deteriorated, according to the CFE-CGC.

Moreover, "social relations deteriorated" are found among non-executives, including a "major failure of management" and "working atmosphere tense, even violent.

"The diagnosis is indicative of the internal situation" responded Patrice Diochet the CFTC, adding hope that "this diagnosis is a detonator." "We must use this tool to put pressure on the ongoing negotiations on stress," he added.

Playing the card of transparency in anticipation of these results, France Telecom announced a total of 32 suicides among its members for two years. The operator has not yet made public its reaction.

After rising 2.4% in September, spending on household consumption of manufactured goods posted a growth of 1.1% in October according to figures released Tuesday by the INSEE. Spending on durable goods are still progressing (+1.3%) after acceleration in September (+5.1%). This was due to car purchases very dynamic (+10.2%), while in October "households slowed on these purchases," says the National Institute of Statistics.

In contrast, they increased their spending on equipment housing (+2.2% after +0.7% in September), each item of equipment (furniture, electrical goods, electronics and informatics) contributing to this acceleration.

The new floating balances boosted purchases in textiles. According to INSEE, purchases of textiles and leather rose 2.6% after a month of September already dynamic (+2.9%).Other manufactured goods (pharmaceuticals, publishing, crafts, perfume, etc..) Also displayed a slight increase in October (+0.3% after +0.4% in September).

While Free is soon to land on the mobile phone market, operators are in battle. SFR puts together all the stops to improve coverage of its 3G mobile network.

Behind the obligations contained in its license, the operator covers only 80% of the population, instead of the 98% required. Rival Orange is also delayed but to a lesser extent, since it covers 85% of the population. Bouygues Telecom, which started later, he is ahead: it already covers 79% of the population for a requirement of 75% in late 2010.

This topic will be up for discussion with the regulator (Arcep) in December. Orange and SFR, which could theoretically fine, should actually commit to a new schedule of obligations.

SFR, which has invested 1.4 billion euros in its network in 2009, promises to invest at least as much this year.A reminder that the business of mobile operator needs to have deep pockets. Meanwhile, he announced Tuesday the sale of a new cabinet, "SFR 3G Home," sold 299 euros. Clean the box Web client, this case is actually a mini-antenna technology ( "femtocell"), is improving coverage at home.

"Tool of comfort"

"It is a tool of convenience for our customers. This provides a good mobile coverage in the back room, for example where the mobile goes wrong, where in his second home, "says Jean-Marc Tassetto, general manager marketing and public SFR. 82% of subscribers who do not pick up well at home, would be interested in this type of product, according to the operator. Another initiative SFR announced Tuesday the launch of an offer Internet access via satellite (from 34,90 euro per month dish included).It is for 500 000 homes, located mostly in rural areas, still lack access to ADSL. SFR for the occasion partnered with satellite operator Eutelsat. Such an offer has already been launched in early 2009 by Orange.

Along with improved network coverage, the operator must also cope with the sharp increase in traffic. Indeed, with unlimited internet boom on phones, consumers are now e-mail, surfing, downloading video, music streaming. All activities demanding network capacity, leading all operators to invest to avoid saturation.