The customer pays only the minutes consumed

They call SIM, Debitel, Simyo, Call in Europe, Afone or Prixtel. What are telecommunications operators, or little-known, but that hope fate, even if Free is the fourth mobile license and launched an offensive on the rates in 2011. The recipe for these Petit Poucet of motive They sell prepaid cards or mobile plans, most often without commitment, and low-cost still. All are virtual mobile operators (MVNO) who have no network and buy minutes wholesale Orange, SFR or Bouygues Telecom then resold them at retail. Most rely on the price of their services to their place in the Sun.

Simyo, subsidiary of Dutch KPN which uses the network of Bouygues Telecom, sold for example the minute 19 euro cents, according to the system, typical of the prepaid card. As a comparison, SFR and Orange sell 55 eurocents per minute. To arrive at such a price, Simyo cannot afford to subsidize the phone or have in its range of "smartphones".

Petit Poucet inventive

SIM is the newest of these MVNO "low cost". Hosted by SFR, this operator based in the Bordeaux region has created a package without commitment, at a fixed cost, i.e. 17 euro cents per minute. The customer pays only the minutes consumed. It is debited each month on its bank account and receives its invoice by e-mail. Its competitor, Call in Europe, had already released a similar offer in early this year called "zero package", which combines flexibility and low prices. "Today, people look much more what they spend." There is more than small economies. However, with the package, the constraint is commitment. "With the prepaid card, it's the high price," explains Benjamin Bitton, founder SIM. Entrepreneur hopes to conquer customers 100,000 of by late 2010 and finds that on average these should bring about 20 euros each month. "Initially, we will turn to the 19 million French who hold a card prepaid, because with our offer they will pay much less expensive per minute," said the young boss. Because, as said Benjamin Bitton, "0.17 euro per minute, the margin is very small." "It will happen to make a profit with the volumes". Meanwhile, Virgin Mobile, the largest of the French MVNO, has also its offer "low cost". : it offers a package of two hours of communications for 16,90 euros per month.

But why conventional mobile operators allow the MVNO to be more aggressive on their tariffs "The MVNO will on Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom market segments are less present." "Featuring a network operators prefer push offers fastest as unlimited SMS, mobile Internet," explains Jean-Paul Cadoret, Director-General in charge of trade and customer service in SFR. Therefore, the MVNO will not fight the operators in their field of choice. The other explanation is also that operators see happen a fourth player in the mobile, probably Free, with a lot of mistrust. They may be tempted to develop at the same time offers "low cost" to block Free.

Remains to know if they will break. Because, in four years, the MVNO have seduced only 5.5 of the French people with a mobile. They still won customers 516.000 in one year to end September 3.17 million.