Market of directory enquiry in France

Résumé du document

February 14, 1876, the English-born American Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent for a system of voice transmission: He was the first to achieve this feat and became the inventor of what was later called the "Phone". In the twentieth century in April 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper, then director of research and development at Motorola, managed to make a call on a wireless phone. Generally, we refer to him as the inventor of the phone usually called "cell phone," "mobile phone," or "cellular."

The new generation of mobile phones has revolutionized our lives by allowing us to connect wherever there is mobile network. That said, despite the modernization process, there is an inevitable rule when calling a person: you need to know the phone number (on a landline phone as well as a cell phone). To do this, a special service must be established shortly after the widespread use of telephone in families of developed countries. The aim is to respond to consumer demand for such services; we speak of " directory inquiry". The directory inquiry is an information service to find a phone number based on a name orm address. In Germany, the telephone information service was launched in 1939 with the number 118.

Since 1921 in Switzerland and 1938 in France, dialing 11 gives you an operator who can then retrieve a desired number from the name of the user. However, this system lasted only until 1983. With the advent of Minitel, the number 11 is re-attributed to access to the information service of this new technology. The number 12 is created to replace the 11. The 12 is the only number of directory inquiry and it belongs to the state. This refers to state monopoly. In this study, we will develop the historical evolution of this service through the various forms it embodied. Indeed, the French telephone information service has undergone many changes at the pace of reforms that were imposed. It's a rich and transverse subject, for it offers the possibility to study different types of market organization for the same service.

We are going to develop four questions to organize our reasoning:
- How were directory inquiries organized on the market before they suffered reform?
- What elements triggered reform?
- Under which conditions was the market opened? With what consequences?
- How can we describe the market today, several years after the reform?

Extraits

[...] Several decisions have gone in the direction of reform. A recommendation issued in 1997 by the European Committee for Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs ("ECTRA) suggested the possibility of substituting the number 12 numbers starting by 118XY. The committee recommended the establishment numbers of the form XYZ 118XY or 118 to access telephone information services. By 1999, the French Authority on the subject had initiated a discussion and work group on this. But she had received no positive response: consumer groups including "Que Choisir" had expressed strong reluctance to the idea of abandoning the number 12. [...]

[...] Abigail Maitre Market of Directory Enquiry 04/28/2011 But the "Conseil d'Etat" ruled for the plaintiffs. On this basis and in order to respect the European decision, the Authority has sought to bring about a gradual shift and framed, to a numbering 118XYZ to protect the interests of consumers and the sustainability of this market. III. The Market Opening to competition: A Complex change with Heavy consequences A. ARCEP in charged to oversee the transition The Regulatory Authority for Communications and Postal Services immediately began to work to implement the injunction contained in the decision of the Conseil d'Etat dated on June 2004. [...]

[...] The main competitor of the directory enquiries is the website pagesjaunes.fr: it gives free telephone information and it very easy to use. One could almost call it alternative market to directory enquiries if they were not of particular importance: Contrary to Internet, they offer the possibility of joining any contact through the phone. It is guaranteed whereas the Internet is not always available everywhere so easily despite the expansion of 3G. That said, in hindsight, the information services have sought to diversify by offering a wider range of service. [...]

[...] On April all the old one stopped: an informational message was broadcast to inform the consumers. That's when the majority of users actually started using the new numbers 118 XYZ. The support of consumers in this complex process of change has been the major concern of the Authority and the government. Communication campaigns have been conducted by the new services providing information. Institutional communication has also been conducted by the Ministry of Economy, in liaison with the Authority, in the form of a brochure distributed in several million copies. [...]

[...] The case of directory Enquires that development happened in most EU countries despite no common reform on the topic. The response is often addressed at the national level, even though the question is initiated by the European Union. Abigail Maitre Market of Directory Enquiry 04/28/2011 APPENDIX Document of the people under estimate the prix of the service. Document All the numbers 118 XYZ given in June 2005 and which started in 2006 Abigail Maitre Market of Directory Enquiry 04/28/2011 Documents and The market after liberalization: less phone calls, less services available. [...]