2010 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT - Iliad

6 Principal
OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP’S BUSINESS
activities
HD games. The Freebox Revolution offering enables subscribers to access games directly via their televisions. Through its partnership with
Gameloft – a leading worldwide developer and publisher of downloadable video games – the Group has once again demonstrated its pioneering
approach by bringing out the fi rst-ever HD games offer on a triple-play box.
6.2.1.1.1.2 Hosting offers and services provided under the Online, Dedibox and Iliad Entreprises brands
The Hosting business corresponds to the sale of both dedicated and non-dedicated web hosting services, as well as customized outsourcing
solutions.
Non-dedicated hosting services proposed under the Online brand are invoiced at a fl at annual rate by domain name or by site.
The dedicated server offering marketed under the Dedibox brand is aimed at SMEs and individuals. The services are invoiced on a monthly basis
and subscribers can access a high-speed multi-usage platform that is permanently connected to the Internet network. Various formats are offered to
subscribers, depending on whether they are seeking hosting solutions for their e-commerce sites, messaging servers, data backups or applications
(whether low-resource or resource-hungry).
The Group also has a brand that is entirely devoted to professionals – Iliad Entreprises – which offers customers bespoke communications systems
management solutions in order to precisely meet their requirements. These services range from infrastructure relocation to global project management,
with operations assistance targeted at specifi c areas of expertise.
6.2.1.1.1.3 Other Broadband activities
The Group’s Other Broadband activities mainly generate revenues through the sale of (i) advertising space on Free’s portal, (ii) the “Pay-as-you-go”
and “50-hour plan” Internet access offerings, (iii) switched traffi c to the Traditional Telephony segment and (iv) WiFi cards and related equipment, as
well as the preselection offering, migration to the unbundled service and modem renewals. In 2010, Arjel (France’s online gaming regulator) licensed
the Group’s subsidiary Iliad Gaming as an authorized operator in the French market. The revenues generated from the Group’s online gambling games
and sports betting offerings are included in “Other Broadband activities”.
6.2.1.1.2 The Group’s manufacturing operations
Freebox. The Group has chosen to develop its own broadband Internet upload and download equipment in-house in order to win as many new
subscribers as possible in a competitive and fast-growing market by providing differentiated service offerings. As a result of the technological resources
of the development team at Freebox S.A.S. combined with an extremely selective purchasing policy, the Group has been able to optimize the cost
of designing a DSLAM and a modem capable of meeting the high bandwidth requirements necessary to offer high value-added services. The use of
both DSLAMs and modems developed by the Group’s in-house teams enables Iliad to provide its subscribers with a fi rst-rate technical service offering
capable of transmitting bandwidth-intensive voice, data and audiovisual content simultaneously and over long distances.
The Freebox DSLAM. The DSLAM developed by Freebox S.A.S. is technically confi gured to optimize the Group’s existing network and guarantees
each subscriber a theoretical download rate of up to 28 Mbit/s (with the latest version) from the local concentrator. Each DSLAM, installed in racks
which can hold up to two DSLAMs, can be connected to 1,008 lines and is designed to leverage the Free network which uses only IP protocol, unlike
conventional transmission networks which use ATM/SDH protocol. The DSLAM developed by Freebox S.A.S. has a Giga Ethernet output and was
designed to accommodate the high bandwidth requirements of audiovisual services.
The Freebox modem. In 2001, the Iliad Group invented the concept of the “box” – a multi-service modem box offering Internet access as well as
telephony (VOIP) and television services (IPTV). Developed by Iliad’s in-house teams, the Freebox is an easy-to-install scalable ADSL modem with
multiple functions that enables householders to converge their multimedia requirements.
Designed and developed by the Group’s research and development teams, the Freebox modem and the Freebox DSLAM include components
acquired from third party suppliers and assembled by companies which are not part of the Group.
The Freebox is now in its sixth version and boasts a host of functions, some of which are exclusive to Free. The main Freebox versions that are
currently available are shown below, along with their principal functions:
Freebox V4 (launched in 2004). This box includes ADSL 2+ technology and has a very high theoretical bandwidth (up to 28 Mbit/s) as well as
offering access to value-added services such as audiovisual services over ADSL (Mpeg 2 and Mpeg 4 format);
FREEBOX V4
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- Registration document 2010