It’s crazy that time flies! Free Mobile , the latest in the world of French mobile operators, has just turned 4 years on 10 January. Back to the beginnings of a saga that has had the merit of giving a big boost to a mobile phone market which reveled between high price and cronyism.
A now legendary conference
It is January 10, 2012 that the “revolution” takes place. Free, who won the French high-tech landscape thanks to its unlimited ADSL offers, convenes an audience of journalists for a press conference that will be remembered.
After long weeks of coded messages and campaign com ‘very mysterious, Xavier Niel comes in. The man, unaccustomed to the exercise at the time, launched into a Keynote which is largely inspired by those of Steve Jobs. He then shows very aggressive toward incumbents, not hesitating to say that they take their customers for “pigeons”. To counter this pricing policy considered too high and that more limits methods to retain customers at the time, Announces Free Unlimited package with 3GB of data for 19.99 euros. A rate reduced to 15.99 euros for Freebox subscribers.
A totally messed Market
To hit more minds, Xavier Niel asked the journalists present on site to look under their headquarters. They will find an envelope containing one revolution of the brand, a mobile package with 1 hour of calls and 60 SMS a free package for Freebox subscribers.
The arrival of packages significantly revolutionize Free French mobile market. The other operators will not be cut and in turn will lower prices by creating what is now called the Mvno. In 4 years, Free has experienced many swirls and very chaotic start, many users complaining of the lack of operator coverage that takes advantage of the roaming Orange. The operator will also face complaints from Bouygues Telecom who accused him of unfair competition.
But over time and with the advent of 4G, the troublemaker develops its infrastructure and continues to scrounge ground on its competitors. And if its rates have not changed since the packages Free Mobile have continued to innovate to stay on top in terms of value. In December 2013, the offer to 19.99 euros dons 20GB 4G browsing, extended to 50 GB in September 2015. The package 2 euros evolve too, offering 50MB including navigation and unlimited SMS.
Still Free, which were promised great things for its mobile packages in 2015, will have to really innovate, because since then the competition has been able to align on pricing and service. 2016 will certainly be a pivotal year in the Telecom market with the acquisition of Bouygues announced by Orange. Free should take the opportunity to recover some of the first city infrastructure. According to a report of UFC Que Choisir, Free Mobile will already have had the merit of bringing down the French mobile bill by 30% since his arrival.
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