Bouygues kicks off triple-play price war in France

French service provider Bouygues Telecom has kicked off a triple-play price war in France with rival Iliad Telecom by reducing the price of its TV, fixed phone and internet service by a third, with Iliad responding in kind.

Bouygues has reduced the price of its La Box triple-play package to €19.99 without minimum contract requirements.
The offering will be available from March 3 in French cities with above 100,000 inhabitants on Bouygues’ own network. The covers about 12 million French households in total.

The package includes 20GB of cloud-based storage, 165 TV channels and a 40GB DVR, access of VoD and catch-up TV, and fixed telephony with unlimited calls to 121 international destinations.

Users can upgrade to Bouygues’ Sensation offering for €6. This includes 170 TV channels including 27 HD services, additional premium services, a 300DVR, VoD, games and access to the B.tv multiscreen service as well as 50GB of cloud storage.

Iliad Telecom immediately responded by adding a TV option to its low-cost Alice Box offering, available for €19.98 to subscribers with unbundled lines. Iliad operates two brands in France – Free, which has had a major impact on the French multi-play market recently with its launch of low-cost next-generation mobile services – and Alice.

The Alice Box offering includes high-speed internet, 90 TV channels and access to VoD and unlimited fixed telephony to 60 international destinations.

Iliad, which acquired Alice in 2008, already offers a low-cost double play internet and phone package for €9.99, to which subscribers could add a low-cost TV service.