Free takes its toll on others

Free Mobile, a fourth mobile operator, is taking a bite out of France’s MVNOs with its low-cost offer, newspaper Les Echos reported.

French monitoring site Toosurtoo shows that 26 percent of Free’s subscribers have migrated from MVNOs, with Virgin Mobile France suffering the most defections.

Los Echos quotes a French analyst as saying the impact of Free Mobile could threaten the viability of the MVNO market, adding that some network operators will find it difficult to renegotiate contracts.

Toosurtoo’s data show that Free Mobile picked up close to 9 percent of its customers at the expense of Virgin Mobile, while La Poste Mobile lost around 5 percent and LeClerc Mobile lost nearly 3 percent.

Further, Toosurtoo says the big three network operators – Orange France, Bougues Telecom and SCF – have also felt an impact.

Free Mobile has not announced its subscriber total, but Toosurtoo estimates it to be more than 1million people.