Investments are always higher, a clash over prices especially intense : the war in the telecommunications hardens since the beginning of the year. In this equation complicated, Orange draws its pin from the play. The historical operator, which published its half-year results on Thursday 26 July, has increased in France, with a turnover up 1.4 % on the national territory, to 8,59 billion euros, continuing a trend begun at the end of 2017.
In mobile, he has won over 4 % of additional customers in the second quarter to reach 19 million subscribers. “Orange is first raised by the quality of its 4G network, and then by its offers convergent fixed-mobile,” comments Stéphane Beyazian, an analyst at Raymond James. But it is mainly the fibre, and its Internet speeds higher than 100 megabits per second, which allows it to raise its price. At the end of June, the operator had 2.25 million customers, representing a growth of 33 % year on year. “If the volumes are on the mobile, the value on the fixed. At the end of a year (on the expiry of the promotional offer), the operator earns between 5 and 8 euros more about the packages, depending on the services, ” says the same analyst.
Face-to-SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad (whose founder Xavier Niel is a shareholder individually World), Orange has taken quite a step ahead. It generates over 70 % of deployments in France and had at the end of June, 10.3 million of lines can be connected. SFR had a total of 1.2 million outlets, and Free 324 000, according to figures from the regulator for telecommunications, Arcep, available at the end of march.
Success in big cities
It must be said that financially the historical operator has the means much more important than those of its competitors to invest : in France, it has generated in 2017 ebitda (equivalent to the gross profit operational) of almost 7 billion euros, against…
