French Government, Telco Federation Defend Unlimited Web Deals

French telecommunications companies won't stop providing packages that offer unlimited access to high-speed fixed-line Internet, France's industry minister and the country's telecoms federation said Monday, after website Omni reported that such moves were being considered.

"It is out of the question that unlimited Internet will end," Yves Le Mouel, head of the Federation Francaise des Telecoms, which comprises France's largest operators France Telecom SA (FTE), Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR) SFR and Bouygues SA's (EN.FR) telecom unit, told Dow Jones Newswires. Alternative operator Iliad SA (ILD.FR) and Numericable aren't members of the federation.

Industry Minister Eric Besson also said "the government isn't considering any restriction to Internet access."

However, some operators could modify their offers to either impose caps for very heavy users or have them pay more. "It's not improbable that operators will increasingly differentiate their offers... some may have specific offers for very heavy web users," Le Mouel said, adding that any changes would only affect a tiny number of households.

In France, operators currently offer unlimited access to high-speed Internet to all users for the same fee. The "very heavy users" in question are those 5% to 10% of consumers that currently use up some 80% of bandwidth, according to Le Mouel.

Le Mouel said the telecoms federation at the end of July sent a working document to French operators, on the request of telecoms regulator Arcep, aimed at making operators' offers more transparent amid exploding web traffic.

Operators will meet again in September to discuss this document. "We will try to find a consensus and get all operators to adopt the same behavior," Le Mouel said. "Nothing has been decided yet."

-By Ruth Bender, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]