These crisis create the conditions of a risky "technologic break" for large European countries and particularly for France in the sphere of the broadband Internet.
The crisis of financial confidence and the investment decrease which followed leads to a technologic break.
This one is not particularly welcomed by the main European countries since in addition to a lack of financing in their research, they face a deficit even more important in the sector of new technologies.
In the case of France, this phenomenon is worse because of the slow development of the broadband Internet.
1. The gobal lack of financement in research in large European countries is even more sensible in the telecomunication and information technology sectors We know that France (2.2%), Germany (2.3%), Great Britain (1.9%), Italy (1%), and Spain (1%), dedicate a smaller part of their GDP to research compared to the United states (2.8%), Finland (2.9%) or Sweden (3.8%).
However, these overall data hide the differences of financing even more important in the sectors of information technology and telecommunications.
The effort of research in the United States is mainly focused on two sectors –including the one in the telecommunication and information technology sector- in which the dual research (that is to say which is run by the department of American defense and by the NASA for the space , on military programs but largely created according to strategical needs of civilian companies) is already ten times higher in this sector compared to the efforts of research if the European Union and States which forms it.
It would be urgent that France takes an initiative in Europe in order to develop a financing of dual military research at the same pace as across the Atlantic.
Finland and Sweden focus their efforts on these two sectors, but to a minor extent.
From that moment, many personalities heard by your spokesmen insisted on the fact that in the two sectors of the Internet applications and the spheres of ambient intelligence which are particularly strategic, and which will spread in next decade's economic activities, the companies of these countries, to which Israël and the United Kingdom can be added, are on the way to take the lead which could, if we don't pay attention to them, become irreversible.
2. The French handicap in the broadband Internet
The slow development concerning the use of the classic Internet in France which was noted is disappearing.
However, after this gap comes another, with consequences just as disastrous: at the end of 2000, 18 million people in North America were connected to a broadband Internet network, 5 millions in Europe, and only 190,000 in France.
There are tow reasons explaining the French slow development:
- A differed developmentThe historic French operator plans to connect 80% of potential users with the broadband connection, before the end of 2002, either a difference of a year compared to its German counterpart who plans to offer a connection to 90% of potential users before the end of 2001 (the number of real users growing from 700,000 in February 2001 –compared to 190,000 in France- to a margin estimated between 1.5 and 2 millions at the end of the year).
- A lack of competition
Moreover, its charging system for the connection varies between 300 up to 400 francs per month whereas it is only 150 up to 200 francs in Germany. This gap is the result of the slow connection but also the many obstacles not directly for the charges opposed by France Telecom for the unbundling of the local loop. The consequence is that nowadays, the only unbundling contracts, then for the competition, only concerns three groups in Paris and Lyon.
However, concerning the historic operator, we can estimate that beyond the maintenance of a monopolistic position, the slow development of the broadband Internet and the obstacles it imposes to the acceleration of the development for the unbundling of the local loop are largely imputable to a financial situation burdened with debt:
- because of the withdrawal of the State for research in the sector of telecommunications : where are the two billions previously assigned to the CENT, with the additional equivalent funds invested in research and development contracts concluded by France Telecom with the industry and some research groups?
- And, with a debt directly generated by immoderate costs for the awarding of third generation UTMS licenses of mobile telephony in large European countries.
Deducting on the telecommunication sector whereas before, it was granted research subsidies, the modernization of our economy is delayed and the transition of France to the information society, at the moment when it becomes the main driving force of the present and future growth. From now on, this slow development leads to serious consequences:
a) The slow implementation delays the generalization for the uses of the broadband Internet
We know that the acquisition of these uses is one of the inescapable conditions for the transition to the information society. However, they are far from being acquired, even for the Internet of the first generation. And it is not a matter of transfering a custom, as it was done when there was a transition from the wire telephony to the mobile telephony, but to encourage a revolution in the behaviours and uses of everyone, as fast as possible.
b) Moreover, its charging system which is too high has repercussions on the overall of the telecommunication and information technology sectors.
Thus, it delays the organization of an offer of innovative application packages and particularly to the large public because service providers will not be able to ensure the profitability of their applications beyond enough clients and a rate of connection low enough to allow other expenditures.
Concerning that, we have to remind that the future of this broadband Internet economic model is dependant from its market.
However, if the access to services is too expansive, users who generally get a license fee, subscription to cable television, a subscription to wire or mobile telephony don't have illimited financial funds.
If the transportation price is too high, then, the purchase of services will be delayed and the establishment of corresponding companies will not happen in our country.
These will set up elsewhere.
c) Finally, we set the conditions of a double discrimination in terms of city and regional planning:
- concerning the possibilities of connection, since only 80% of users will be connected before the end of 2002, including 85% in a satisfactory way, which corresponds to a real coverage hardly higher than the two third of potential users,
- and concerning the rates, since the competitors won't decrease the connection rate for long, except in the large cities.