Earlier this month new French wireless ISP Free started turning heads by offering some disruptive pricing, including a free level of base service that includes 60 voice minutes and 60 SMS's. Users also get access to the ISP's public Wi-Fi hotspots, and 3GB of data for 19.99 (roughly $25, or $20 if they bundle landline broadband service) per month. The initial response by competitors is somewhat amusing with incumbent operator France Telecom apparently deciding that the right reaction to the shake up of France's stale wireless sector is to pretend it isn't happening:
France Telecom will not match the low-cost mobile offers recently launched by new operator Iliad because such aggressive pricing would be bad for network quality and innovation in the long-run, said its chief executive. France Telecom's Chief Executive, Stephane Richard, criticized a race to the bottom on mobile prices and attacked what he cast as his competitor's reckless approach. "The real risk is that all the operators become 'low-cost', meaning less investment, fewer services and jobs," he told France's Journal de Dimanche. "We will never match prices because we offer security, reliability and innovation."
And by "innovation," they apparently mean not being innovative when it comes to service price tags, something made possible by the previous lack of real competition.read comment(s)