REGISTRATION DOCUMENT AND FINANCIAL REPORT - Iliad

6. OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP’S BUSINESS
6.6 REGULATORY SITUATION
principles for the allocation of telephone numbers, define the role of the national regulatory authorities, and
introduce a common process for settling disputes. Operators that the national regulatory authorities have
designated as having “significant market power in a relevant market” must offer interconnection to other
operators.
Interconnection agreements are subject to private law and may be disclosed to ARCEP on the latter’s request.
ARCEP has the power to rule on disputes between operators but its decisions may be appealed to the Paris Cour
d’Appel (Court of Appeal). Any such appeal lodged against an ARCEP decision does not suspend the ruling
made by ARCEP.
Free has entered into interconnection agreements with France Télécom and the three mobile operators in France
(SFR, Orange and Bouygues Télécom) in line with the reference interconnect offers published by these operators.
Free has also signed interconnection agreements with the alternative operators Neuf Cégétel and Télécom Italia
France relating to terminating traffic entering the Neuf Cégétel and Télécom Italia France networks. At the same
time, these alternative operators have entered into interconnection agreements concerning terminating traffic
entering the Free network for both non-geographic numbers (087B and 095B) and geographic numbers. In these
agreements, the call termination services provided by Free and the abovementioned operators are priced at a rate
that complies with Decision 06-0551 issued by ARCEP on May 30, 2006 in relation to a dispute between France
Télécom and Neuf Cégétel.
The main fixed-line local loop operators have also signed an interconnection agreement with Free, concerning
terminating traffic entering the Free network for both geographic and non-geographic numbers (087B and 095B)
as well as collected traffic for Value-Added Services (08AB, 3BPQ and 118XYZ numbers) provided by France
Télécom or third party operators for which France Télécom performs a transit service. Under the terms of the
agreement Free also bills Value-Added Services paid by callers using France Télécom or third party operators for
which France Télécom performs a transit service. Free receives a fee for this billing service, based on the pricing
scale for the services billed.
Dial-up Internet access
The regulations relating to dial-up access to the Internet are based on interconnection regulations.
France Télécom’s reference interconnect offer sets out the technical and pricing conditions of interconnection
services relating to calls made by subscribers connected to the France Télécom network (or to the networks of
third party operators).
This reference offer also stipulates the terms and conditions for billing services carried out on behalf of third
parties by France Télécom. Under this service, Free receives the revenue generated from the end-customers for
which France Télécom provides access to telephone services in relation to calls made by the end-customers to
0860 numbers, paid for by the caller at a rate specified in the “Local Internet Price” section of France Télécom’s
price catalog.
Broadband Internet access and local loop unbundling
The provision of broadband Internet access is based either on (i) physical access to France Télécom’s copper
local loop allowing the new entrant to operate its own access equipment with the aim of offering its own services,
as distinct from France Télécom’s services, or (ii) access to France Télécom’s DSLAMs, combined with the
collection of subscribers’ data traffic and delivery of this traffic to one or more of the service provider’s points of
presence. In the first case, the service provided by France Télécom is known as “local loop unbundling” while in
the second case, the service offers “bit stream access”, more commonly called “Option 5” or “Option 3” in
France.
The Group uses both these options to provide its customers with broadband Internet access (see Section 6.1.4.1
above).
50 - Iliad – Registration Document 2007