Parental Control Deployments [161]: SFR Uses Optenet for Controlled Children Portal

   
Optenet announced that "SFR has launched with OPTENET’s support two portals specially designed to provide content directed at children, one of them for mobile navigation and the other for traditional navigation. The content available has been compiled by Optenet who is also responsible for updating and maintaining both sites. Furthermore, the service is available free of charge to all parental control customers".

".. Contents are grouped into 10 broad categories: videos, games, education, art and culture, news, music, sports, leisure, hobbies, and school" - see figure below.

See "SFR launches with OPTENET’s support two portals for children" - here.

A "Bizarre" French Idea – Data Caps on Fixed Service

  
The press reports that "Three major internet service providers in France are discussing plans to introduce caps on "unlimited" web access - making heavy users pay a surcharge .. SFR, Orange and Bouygues are looking at the case for bringing in new limits on the packages they offer to domestic customers, in order to better control traffic levels .. Free said it had "reservations" and Numéricable said it was "not involved" in the talks".

We use to see this strategy with wireless providers, but this one refers to fixed service. Nevertheless, we have seen this before in other places (Comcast, Canada, AT&T - DSL)- but still Arcep, the regulator said the idea was "bizarre".

"One of the most vocal critics of the idea this weekend was Marine Le Pen (pictured), the leader of the far-right Front National. She is drawing up an "internet freedom" law including a clause that would make web access "a fundamental right for every citizen" (here, French). 

   

See "Operators plan cap on 'unlimited' web" (here) or "Bientôt la fin de l'internet illimité à domicile ?" (here, French)

SFR Deploys NSN Cell_PCH Optimization Technology

  

Nokia Siemens Networks announced today it "has already provided Radio Network Controllers along with Cell_PCH technology that helps conserve smartphone battery life by handling signaling traffic more intelligently and decreasing signaling load on the network" to SFR, the 2nd largest mobile operator in France with over 20M mobile customers.

See "Nokia Siemens Networks upgrades SFR 3G network, showcases double-speed mobile broadband" - here.

See "NSN: New iPhone OS Saves Network Resources" - here for more details on the technology and its importance to mobile operators.

Skype's $100M IPO: "Our business depends on our users having continued and unimpeded access to the Internet"

  

Skype has filed an IPO registration statement with the SEC for the planned $100M IPO (here).

Like always, the S-1 "risk factors" list is long (over 40 pages - after all, it protects the company, not the investors). Nevertheless, it is interesting to see Skype thoughts on its competition, who is blocking its service, Net Neutrality etc.

Here is the relevant part:

Our business depends on our users having continued and unimpeded access to the Internet. Companies providing access to the Internet may be able to block or degrade our calls, or block access to our website or charge us or our users additional fees for our products.


Most of our users rely on open, unrestricted access to the Internet to use our products. In many cases that access is provided by companies that compete with at least some of our products, including incumbent landline telephone companies, cable television system operators, mobile wireless communications companies, and large Internet service providers. Some of these providers have stated that they may take measures that could block, degrade or otherwise disrupt our calls, or increase the cost of customers’ use of our products by restricting or prohibiting the use of their lines or access points to the Internet for our products, by filtering, blocking, delaying, or degrading the packets of data used to transmit our communications, and by charging increased fees to our users for access to our products. For example, in June 2010 AT&T in the United States and carrier partners in the United Kingdom introduced tiered priced data plans for the iPhone setting monthly data usage limits, with iPhone users incurring overcharges above those quotas, which may diminish the attractiveness of our products on the iPhone as users increase their data use. In addition, these Internet access providers may limit the ability of our existing or prospective users to gain access to our website to download our software or purchase Skype Credit.

Some Internet access providers have additionally, or alternatively, contractually restricted their customers’ access to Internet communications products (which would include Skype) through their terms of service. For example, SFR in France and Vodafone in Germany contractually prohibit their customers from using voice over the Internet protocol services on the Apple iPad 3G. T-Mobile in Germany and Vodafone in France and the United Kingdom have established special additional tariffs for voice over the Internet protocol. Customers of these and other Internet access providers may not be aware that technical disruptions or additional tariffs are the act of other parties, which could harm our brand. Even if customers understand that we are not the source of such disruptions, they may be less likely to use our products as a result ..
..
In the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions, regulatory authorities are in the process of examining the adoption of “network neutrality” policies, which aim to treat all Internet traffic equally, and developing or considering laws and regulations to codify acceptable behaviors on the part of network operators and access providers when providing consumers and businesses with access to the Internet. Different regulatory authorities have different approaches to this policy area both from a substantive and procedural perspective. Any failure on the part of regulatory authorities to protect the accessibility of the Internet to all, or any particularly category of, Internet subscribers, or their failure to protect the delivery on a non-discriminatory basis of user communications over the Internet, regardless of type or service, could harm our results of operations and prospects.

France: Mobile Data Speed Increased by 50% During 2009

 

ARCEP, the French regulator, published the results of Quality of service of 2G and 3G Mobile Networks survey for 2009.

See the press release - "QUALITY OF SERVICE OF MOBILE NETWORKS"- here and the report (here, French)

Regarding data services, the survey finds that - "File transfer tests were performed in the 12 largest metropolitan areas in France, and in 20 towns and cities with a population of between 50,000 and 400,000, using USB keys or PCMCIA cards plugged into a laptop computer, or directly via the netbooks that telecom carriers sell. The results of these tests reveal average speeds that are more than one and a half times higher than those obtained in 2008: an average download speed of 2.2 Mbit/s and more than 5 Mbit/s for the fastest services and, for sending files, an average upload speed of 1.2 Mbit/s and more than 1.7 Mbit/s for the fastest services. These speeds were achieved using the most high-end solution that each telco markets in its retail outlets. These bitrates are comparable to the access rates supplied by entry-level ADSL fixed network services.

The following tables show the results of uploading a 1MB and downloading a 5 MB files in the top 12 cities of France (map below), by the 3 mobile operators (First line is the % of files received;  next lines are 90, 50  and 10 percentile speeds). The two big players, Orange and SFR,  results are similar, while Bouygues is significantly lower in all categories.