SFR takes on competition with new offerings

French service provider SFR is to provide its TV Evolution service as a standard feature of its fixed broadband offering, La Box de SFR, available from €29.99.

SFR will offer high-speed internet, free calls to over 100 destinations and TV Evolution to new subscribers who can receive it via ADSL or fibre. For other subscribers, SFR will offer satellite TV as an alternative.

TV Evolution includes live TV, DVR, on-demand TV and games on demand, with a 250GB hard disk. Users can also access content via their PC, smartphone or tablet. SFR is offering over 170 channels including digital-terrestrial channels and 19 HD services, 20 on-demand channels and a VOD catalogue of 10,000 movies, as well as the option to sign up to Canal Plus and CanalSat.

As part of a series of moves seen as an attempt to tackle competition from quad-play rival Free, SFR has also confirmed that it will launch its 4G mobile service at the end of November, beginning in Lyon. The operator said that it had extended its coverage of 3G+ mobile to 98.6% of the population, while Dual Carrier mobile (DC-HSDPA+) would be available to 60% of the population by the end of the year.

From October, SFR will enable customers to make purchases via the Google Play Store using SFR’s billing system without the need to provide their bank details separately.

SFR has also launched a number of new multi-play offers including mobile internet.