Two strikes by French Internet surfers, or Internauts as the French call them, look like paying off as France Telecom has said it will offer flat-rate calls for Internet access as soon as it gets regulatory approval.
And BT has raised the stakes in the battle for Internet customers in Britain with the launch this week of its first free access service.
The move is the latest twist in the Internet service provider market that last week saw Tesco, the supermarket chain, scrap its monthly Internet subscription fee in favour of a free service. This followed the launch of free Internet services by Dixons, Tandy and Toys R Us, the retail groups. Dixons Freeserve, pioneer of free ISPs, has attracted about one million users in Britain.
In France, Mr Michel Bon, the chief executive of France Telecom, said last week that the company intended to offer flat-rate access, but would not give details of charges or length of time allowed online. A spokeswoman for France Telecom confirmed that the details were being finalised, based on offering a set number of hours for a fixed monthly fee.
French Internet users have already staged two 24-hour boycotts, the first last December and the second two weekends ago to protest at the cost of going online. As elsewhere in Europe, users pay monthly fees to Internet service providers as well as telephone call charges. A small number of French users bypass the call charges by using cable systems for access, but most use modems and telephone lines. Call charges vary from 8.7FF (€1.33) per hour to 16.7FF per hour, depending on time of day.
The organisers of the boycott, the Association of Unhappy Internauts (ARIB), has previously called for the US-type model of a flat fee for unlimited local calls, but a spokesman admitted to The Irish Times that the US model was unlikely in France. The prospect of unlimited local calls worries both telephone companies and Internet service providers, who fear many users will remain online all day, tying up lines and modems.
The ARIB spokesman welcomed the statement by Mr Bon, but said he was worried that France Telecom would only offer 10 hours per month at the flat rate. He said 40 hours per month would be more suitable.
A spokesman for the French ISP association (AFA), Mr Jean-Christophe Le Toquin, said he welcomed France Telecom's flat-rate intentions but said it was more likely to be implemented as a forfait, or calling plan, rather than as true flat-rate access.
Mr Le Toquin said he expected the Internet access charge to be in the region of 6FF to 8FF per hour, but would only apply to calls made in the evenings.
Meanwhile, BT claimed its new "BT ClickFree" service was superior to its rivals because it enabled access to the Internet without the need for registration, and offered cheaper customer support.
Internet users will be able to download the service from BT ClickFree's website, or obtain the necessary software on a free compact disc. Electronic mail addresses will be provided by BT's free Talk 21 service.
Mr John Swingewood, BT's director of Internet and multimedia services, admitted that the new free ISP services had led users of the existing BT Click service - which charges 1p a minute more than the Internet local call rate - to complain about the cost.
However, he said the main aim of the initiative was to attract first-time Internet users. BT is linking up with Value Direct, an online retailer, to give users of the new service access to discount goods.
The free service business model relies on advertising and sponsorship for its revenues.
