960416

France Telecom starts Internet service on May 2

PARIS: France Telecom said on Tuesday it will commercially start its Internet computer service on May 2, aiming for a 30 percent market share in France by 2,000.

The service, called Wanadoo, aims to be a "French inner sea in the wild Internet ocean" and is targeted at the mass consumer with information services and, from late 1996, transaction services.

The service will have its own search programme, called Youpie!, for the French content on the network.

It has an agreement with Netscape to use the Navigator browser programmes and is in talks with Microsoft to use its Explorer browser, the software which enables access to the Internet.

Gerard Eymery, chairman of France Telecom Multimedia, said there were talks going on with Microsoft about further "synergies". He refused to comment whether this could involve an alliance in France between Wanadoo and the Microsoft Network.

Wanadoo will be operated by France Telecom Interactive, a subsidiary of France Telecom Multimedia.

ODA, a former France Telecom unit publishing directories now owned by Havas, will take a minority stake.

Eymery said the company would invest some 300 million francs over the next four years in the service and aimed at having revenues of 700 to 800 million francs in 2000.

To subscribe to Wanadoo, after a free trial period, a user has to pay a 190 French francs ($37) sign-on fee and can then choose between a 55 francs monthly subscription for three hours connection or 110 francs for 15 hours connection.

In both cases an additional hour will cost 19 francs.

These prices are somewhat higher than France Telecom's main rival in France, AOL France, and lower than Infonie.

AOL, a joint venture of America Onlineand Bertelsmannof Germany, launched on March 18 and is charging 49 francs for three hours connection with 19 francs ofr additional hours. It does not charge a sign-up fee.

While Wanadoo does has some services suchs as news -- from Agence France Presse -- weather information, a cultural information as well as productions of the Fillipachi group, it leans heavily on its "kiosk" function.

Building on more than a decade of experience with the Minitel telephonic database, Wanadoo gives acces to third service party providers and will later in 1996 be able to offer a "pay per view" service.

This will allow publishers or other content providers to offer their service via the Wanadoo kiosk and receive payments from France Telecom Interactive for the use of their service.

In a first instance, to facilitate the move by the French from minitel to Internet, Wanadoo will have a Minitel function -- a user can click on an icon and get a Minitel screen.

Roger Courtois, chairman of France Telecom Interactive, said the company aimed to introduce an element of security on the Internet -- the company will not only provide "open" access over the net between a client and a server, but Wanadoo will also permit the use of dedicated connections between a user and the server, for instance a company. France Telecom is talking to the banking establishment to agree on payment facilties.

Ultimately, a user can browse through a virtual shop, gather information and enter into a commercial transaction. "Ours will be an open platform, while many rivals have proprieatry systems, but with a big stress on security," Eymery said.

Eymery stressed that France Telecom Interactive SA, as a seperate company, was getting the same tariffs from France Telecom of telecommunication services as other clients of the state-owned near monopoly operator.

Wanadoo will bill seperately.-Reuer