Numericable-SFR says it plans to speed up its deployment of both fibre and 4G services.
In its first results since the combination of Patrick Drahi’s cable company with that of the telecommunications operator, revenue fell by 4.6% to €2.74 billion euros, while first-quarter adjusted operating profit grew 21% to €930 million. As of March 31, 2015, Numericable-SFR held a fixed subscriber base of 6,520, 000
Aggressive cost cutting has improved the bottom line. The operator has lost mobile and broadband subscribers because of its emphasis on higher margin customers.
The boost in 4G coverage will see SFR reach 70 % population coverage this year, 90% in 2017 and 99% in 2020. It’s needed because of the current superiority of Orange and Bouygues Telecom.
Fibre too will see an investment as France moves away from ADSL; 7.7 million will be served in 2015, 12 million in 2017 and 15 million in 2020.