Page 30 - 2012 Annual Report

VIVENDI l 2012 l Annual Report 30
GROUP PROFILE – BUSINESSES – LITIGATION – RISK FACTORS 1
1
SECTION 2 - BUSINESSES
SFR
In 2012, the arrival of a new competitor radically changed the telecoms
market, with two direct consequences: strong pressure on prices and a
proliferation of low-priced offerings.
In 2012, as was the case with mobile telephony, the high-speed and
very-high-speed Internet market continued to grow in France, with a
1.2 million increase in household customers, representing a 5% annual
net growth. At year-end 2012, the total number of customer households in
France (including overseas departments of France) was 24 million (source:
ARCEP).
2.4.3. Market
2.4.4. Network
2.4.4.1. DUAL CARRIER AND 4G
At year-end 2012, SFR was the first French operator to make 4G
very-high-speed mobile network available, to both individuals and
businesses. Mobile Internet customers can take advantage of download
speeds(1) of up to 100 Mbit/s.
To ensure the best very-high-speed mobile coverage, SFR has also
activated the Dual Carrier technology (the most recent iteration of 3G)
that covers 60% of the population and provides download speeds of up to
42 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 5.6 Mbit/s.
2.4.4.2. 3G/3G+
At year-end 2012, the SFR GSM/GPRS network covered more than 99.6%
of the French population and the UMTS (3G/3G+) network covered 99% of
the French population.
SFR has increased the capacity of its 3G+ network to support new uses
of mobile Internet, as data traffic increased by 50% in 2012. The operator
also deploys the latest developments in 3G+.The entire network offers
download speeds of 7.2 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 2 Mbit/s.
Beyond increasing speeds, SFR aims to offer the best mobile Internet
experience to as many people as possible through expanding its efforts
to increase the density of its 3G+ network and deploying 3G+ in densely
populated areas on the 900 MHz frequency band. As a result of this
technology, it is able to offer a quality experience everywhere for voice
and mobile Internet services, with a significant improvement in coverage
inside buildings. SFR is also the first operator to have deployed 3G+ in the
underground stations and RER in Paris, due to a partnership with the RATP
for the deployment of 3G/4G.
2.4.4.3. WI-FI
The SFR Wi-Fi network has more than 4 million hotspots in France.
It provides coverage in public places, such as the major railway stations,
hotels, cafés, and restaurants. SFR is also the only operator to offer Wi-Fi
access in the major underground and RER stations in Paris through its
agreement with Naxos, a subsidiary of RATP.
2.4.4.4. FIXED HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
In 2012, development in the field of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) was
continued through fiber connections made available to more than
1 million households. In November 2011, SFR and France Télécom-
Orange entered into a strategic agreement to deploy fiber coverage
in less densely populated areas. This agreement covers 9.8 million
homes, of which 2.3 million will be completed by SFR by 2020. By then,
an aggregate of nearly 60% of French households will be covered by
fiber due to investment from private operators. Following this agreement,
in 2012, SFR initialized the first deployments of FTTH in less dense areas.
At year-end 2012, SFR had the largest alternative fixed-line network in
France. It connects nearly 5,300 SCUs (subscriber connection units), for
almost 27 million unbundled lines. It provides high-speed data services
(such as ADSL 2+ and fiber optics) at optimum cost, with the widest
coverage of the French population among all alternative operators.
It connects 100% of France Télécom subscriber switches,
thus allowing SFR to provide switched voice services and favorable
interconnection rates. The operator is closely monitoring the introduction
of VDSL2 in France and will be ready to launch a compatible box when the
technology is approved in France.
2.4.4.5. SERVICES TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES
“SFR Collectivités” is the internal group entity dedicated to local
authorities. Its role is to support SFR networks and services’ deployment
strategy in accordance with local needs.
Beyond the cooperative relationship between SFR and local authorities,
SFR also enters into major long-term partnerships, such as public initiative
networks, that focus on physical networks built by local authorities that
invest with a private partner. In this respect, it fulfills, among others, the
following missions:
✱ the deployment of fixed-line and mobile infrastructures with the goal
of increasing appeal and territorial coverage while increasing speeds
and network performance;
✱ educating local authorities about the deployment of
telecommunications networks;
✱ the design, construction and operation of these networks; and
✱ supporting local authorities in their projects to develop new uses for
digital technology (including solidarity, education, transportation and
parking).
(1) There are two types of speeds on the Internet: 1) downloads from the Internet to the computer; 2) uploads from the computer to the Internet. The download speed is the most
important because it is the one used by most applications (e.g., downloading, web page display and e-mail).