Jean-Jacques Damlamian, sales director for France Telecom, indicated last week that the operator is planning a cut in Minitel connect-time charges, due to the increasing competition in France from subscription-based services. At a multimedia conference sponsored by Les Echos, Damlamian did not give a timeframe for the reduction, but Henri de Maublanc, president of the French Telematics Association said such a cut would have to be significant to stimulate consumption and that it could arrive by early 1996. France Telecom confirmed that a rate reform is in the wind. We are discussing it with consumer and professional associations. The rise of the Internet has inspired lots of interest, Damlamian continued. Something that doubles every year must give us pause. I still see a number of problems: nobody yet seems capable of explaining to me the economies of a system like the Internet. I ask myself about the risk of interrupt, and of accessibility [compared to Minitel], which will take time, he said. Minitel numbers about 15m regular users, even if the average monthly expenditure is relatively weak at the equivalent of $16 or so. Revenues of $1,450m or $1,870m before taxes, for 6.5m terminals and a volume of 110m hours of connection per year is both lots and not enough, Damlamian said. To try and protect its market lead, France Telecom is pushing ahead with commercial services, introducing a payment-capable Minitel terminal and new services, via its subsidiary France Telecom Multimedia. According to de Maublanc, the average French household’s audiovisual budget is roughly $50 per month. This is the reason given as to why his association is working with the operator on a rate cut to avoid a complete rupture in use of the pioneer telematic service.
