Microeconomics Case Study

The Power of a Start-up Company: Can Iliad Group Unsettle the Monopoly of France Telecom?

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Abstract:
By 2004, Iliad Group (established in1987) had become France's second largest player in the Internet and telecommunications services market (after France Telecom) with a turnover of US$670.3 million. Iliad started as an Internet service provider and transformed itself into a full-fledged Internet and telecommunications company, incorporating advanced technologies through its own network. Though the Group's goal was to compete with rivals like AOL and Wanadoo in Internet services, it offered tough competition to the state-owned monopoly, France Telecom and revolutionised the French telecom market.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the rapid expansion of Iliad Group in France
• To discuss the threats posed by its competitive strategies to the monopoly of France Telecom.

Keywords : France Telecom; Telecommunication sector of France; Free Internet services; Freebox; Competitive Strategies Case Study; Broadband Internet services; Local loop unbundling; Major Internet service provider in France; Low-cost telephony solutions; French telecom market; Fibre-optic network; VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol); Freeplayer software; Altitude Telecom; WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access); DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer)