Bouygues Telecom launches low-cost FTTH, looks to Google for next TV box

Bouygues Telecom

French service provider Bouygues Telecom, which lost out to cable operator Numericable in its attempt to secure the acquisition of Vivendi’s SFR and lead consolidation in the country’s mobile sector, has launched an assault on the high-speed fixed internet market in the country.

Bouygues is offering its Bbox Sensation service with a fibre connection for €25.99 a month, well under the going rate offered by rivals, with an average closer to €40.

The service will include 170 TV channels, incuding 29 HD services, a 300GB DVR, access to VoD and games, and multiscreen TV via the B.tv app.

The new offering will be made available in the Paris region from the end of this month, as well as in Lyono, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux, covering about 1.1 million homes.

Bouygues is rolling out its own FTTH network, and hopes to migrate subscribers it currently serves using Numericable’s fibre-to-the-last-amplifier network to its own infrastructure. This will enable it to deliver greater flexibility in the prices it charges and the packages offered.

Earlier this year Bouygues launched a triple-play ADSL offer €19.99.

Bouygues is also reportedly planning to launch a new set-top/gateway based on Google’s Android platform in October.

The box, which will be more powerful than the existing Bbox Sensation device, will include a new search engine, access to YouTube and the Google Play Store and a Chrome-based web browser.