Bouygues Telecom Confirms MVNO Deal With KPN in France

PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Bouygues Telecom, a division of Bouygues, Wednesday confirmed it has agreed to sell mobile network capacity in France to Dutch operator Royal KPN.

The move will enable KPN to add another major European market to its repertoire by offering mobile services to French customers without owning its own network.

"It's true," a spokeswoman for Bouygues Telecom told Dow Jones Newswires, in reference to a report in French business daily Les Echos, but without giving further details.

According to Les Echos, KPN's French plan may seek to duplicate its brand in Spain called Simyo.

Bouygues Telecom is the third largest mobile operator in France by revenue, after France Telecom's Orange and Vivendi's SFR.

In July, France's antitrust body, the Conseil de la Concurrence, criticized the level of competition in the French mobile-phone market and called for better conditions for MVNOs, the operators who rent network capacity from the country's three big carriers.

-By Jethro Mullen, Dow Jones Newswires; 33 1 4017 1738; jethro.mullen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 10th September 2008