France has long lagged behind its Western European neighbors in mobile penetration because of lower usage of prepaid services. As penetration in Italy and the UK continues to edge above 100 percent, mobile penetration in France as forecasted by Pyramid Research will reach just 78 percent in 2005. To increase penetration, the French regulatory body ART opened mobile operator networks to MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) as an alternative to incumbent operators in France. Recently, several MVNO launch plans were unveiled � NRJ and Coriolis plan to roll out services on SFR�s network, M6 intends to piggyback on Orange�s network whilst Tele2 has already launched services on Orange�s network. So far, the three MVNOs that launched in 2004 � Debitel, Breizh and Universal Music - have not massively threatened the incumbent network operators. We believe that apart from Tele2, the newly announced MVNOs will fuel price erosion but will only make a slight impact on the dominance of the three incumbents � Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom. So far, the French operators have succeeded in preserving their dominance by signing up MVNOs on their own terms. Of the three MVNOs signed up in 2004 - Debitel, Breizh and Universal Music - none are capable of mounting a strong nationwide challenge to the incumbents.
The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...