9 Feb 2017
French telecoms provider Iliad Group has revealed plans to launch commercial services in the French overseas territories (departement d’outre-mer, DOM) of Reunion and Mayotte in the coming months, with subsequent deployments in other overseas regions, ipreunion.com writes. Services in Reunion and Mayotte will be offered via Telco OI, which is 50/50 owned by Iliad and Axian Group (previously Hiridjee Group), while its operations in the ‘Antilles-Guyane’ grouping – comprising Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint-Martin and Saint Barthelemy – will be wholly-owned. Iliad’s CEO Maxime Lombardini said in a speech before the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly: ‘In Reunion and Mayotte, services should be available soon, and I think you will be satisfied’, though he pointed out that deployments in the other DOMs would take longer: ‘we were [successful] candidates for new frequencies in the West Indies and French Guiana, but it takes time to build the network.’ Iliad has earmarked a EUR100 million (USD113 million) investment for the rollout of services in the DOM regions, with plans to ‘provide users in these territories with straightforward, innovative offerings at attractive prices.’