Liberty
Surf starts French ADSL service
June/July 2001
French ISP Liberty
Surf (part of the Italian Tiscali group) has joined France's limited ranks of
ADSL suppliers, alongside Wanadoo (France Telecom), Club-Internet (Deutsche
Telekom) and Mangoosta. Albin Serviant, Liberty Surf's marketing director, explained
that the service is being offered at a loss due to the obstacles thrown in its
way by France Telecom. He declined to give a figure on the losses. The service,
to be known as Update, will be priced at FF295 a month, about the same level
as the other suppliers.
Serviant added that Liberty Surf's parent company expects Liberty Surf to have
a positive balance sheet before the end of the year, so unless France Telecom
changes its ways it would limit the number of subscribers to the new service.
The reason for the loss is that ADSL operators must pay France Telecom for the
use of their telecoms infrastructure. ART, the French telecommunications regulator,
has arbitrated on a tariff structure, but to date France Telecom has not complied.
Liberty Surf is aiming at gaining a 20 per cent share of the French ADSL market,
predicted to reach 200,000 this year.
