Alexandra Borgeaud
Research expert covering cybersecurity and tech in Latin America
Telecoms in France - statistics & facts
Thanks to society’s increasing reliance on high-speed internet and mobile data services, the telecommunication industry has been experiencing significant growth in recent years, and France is no exception. In 2023, the revenue of the telecoms market in France was forecast to reach nearly 33 billion euros. Of this amount, the mobile and internet and data segments accounted for more than 95 percent of the market, with fixed-line services accounting for the smallest share. The French telecoms industry is competitive, with Orange, Free Mobile, SFR, and Bouygues as the main players.
The unstoppable growth of mobile services
In general, mobile services have a significantly higher take-up than fixed-line services. For instance, in France, there were nearly 120 mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2022, more than twice the number of fixed phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. A trait characterizing the mobile services market is the rise of postpaid SIM cards at the expense of prepaid ones. Furthermore, mobile internet usage is strongly facilitated by the deployment of 5G across the European country, with the share of 5G mobile connections in France forecast to grow from eight percent in 2022 to 90 percent by 2030. As the successor to 4G, 5G offers users lower latency, higher reliability, and better connection performance, and is expected to contribute greatly to digital transformation in France.A quartet at the top
Regarding telecommunications providers, Orange, Free Mobile, SFR, and Bouygues lead the French market. Orange was the company with the highest revenue in France in 2023, at almost 18 billion euros, which represented around 40 percent of its revenue worldwide. That year, Orange was also the telecoms operator in France with the highest level of customer satisfaction, followed by Free Mobile. Free Mobile was also the preferred mobile carrier of smartphone users, as highlighted by more than 20 percent of respondents in 2024. In addition, Free Mobile was the provider who operated the most 5G sites in France as of 2023, around 18.6 thousand. Looking forward, telecoms providers will have to continue to harness technological developments and offer innovative services to maintain their top spot on the French market.
