Xavier Niel

"Iliad is actually a holding company with multiple entities operating in the same sectors. For example, Free SAS, Alice ADSL, and IFW SAS operate as internet service providers, while Online SAS, Dedibox, and Iliad Entreprises offer internet hosting. One. Tel SAS, Kedra SAS, and Free Mobile are involved in telecommunications, and Citéfibre, Free Infrastructures, IRE SAS, and Immobilière Iliad are involved in fiber optics. This is what is meant by "competitive bidding."

"Investment in research and development of equipment and software positions Free as one of the most advanced operators in the implementation of innovative technological solutions. Over time, the group has become a recognized interlocutor of all major global equipment manufacturers such as Intel, Cisco, and Alcatel-Lucent. The brand image is so strong in France that the best French technicians fight to join its teams. With the emergence of the internet in the daily lives of the French, the number of access providers has multiplied. In addition to independent operators for local coverage, promising competitors with particularly strong support include Wanadoo from the France Telecom group, Club Internet supported by the German T-Online after being created by Lagardère, the Italian Tiscali, LDCom, and cable operator Noos."

"To achieve this, he benefited from the support of Antoine Bernheim, the all-powerful managing partner of Lazard Bank, during the period from 1967-2005, who carefully watched over his steps as he had done before with Bernard Arnault, Vincent Bolloré, and François Pinault."

"Web platform outsourcing is the domain of Iliad Enterprises and the design and construction of data centers is handled by Iliad Datacenter. Xavier Niel believes he can smoothly turn the page on the pink Minitel with the growing strength of his internet activities. In search of respectability and space, the group moved to rue Émile-Meunier in the 16th arrondissement of Paris."

"What has been called the new economy is on the verge of becoming the economy overall, and its promoters are becoming the natural leaders of a new generation of French business leaders."

"The group already has four call center companies including Centrapel SAS in Paris, Total Call based in Morocco, Free SAS which has integrated centers in Bordeaux and Marseille previously under Alice and Protelco SAS in charge of technical support. This does not prevent the creation of two new entities in Colombes and Vitry for Free Mobile."

"Charles Beigbeder"

""The first million is the hardest to acquire, the second comes by itself."

"Jacques-Antoine Granjon"

"Everyone knows that you don't buy a newspaper to make money but for the influence it gives you. "What this huge entrepreneur was looking for in Le Monde was the key to entering the establishment."

"The group revolves primarily around Free, with a philosophy of not relying on external providers."

"As a loner, he has an impressive network of contacts. He belongs, without of course claiming it, to the club of the "very rich. " He certainly only allows himself a modest salary in his group, where he is only the Deputy CEO in charge of strategy."

"The story of Free, the internet service provider (ISP) launched in the first months of 1999, is one of technological adventure, but also of an incredible bond created with its subscribers who will accompany it throughout its development. Self-named "Freenautes," and organized into a community via the Association of Free Users (ADUF), these users behave like a true fan club, commenting on every initiative of the operator on dedicated sites such as Univers Freebox, Freenews, etc. This represents significant savings for the group's advertising budget. The first offer put on the market shines with its simplicity. There is no subscription. The user pays the telephone communication related to the duration of their connection at the local internet rate of France Telecom, which then reverses approximately 98% of the revenue generated back to Free. The word "free" is permanently etched in the public's mind on this occasion."

"No need for PowerPoint. It's all in his head. The founder of Iliad doesn't like anything related to social management. Just as with financial issues, he outsources this area. He never negotiates with unions and doesn't attend works council meetings. In the beginning, he also kept away from the general public. He's the thinker who highlights his knights."

"In November 2009, the founder of Iliad and Olivier Rosenfeld teamed up with Emmanuel de Buretel, CEO of the label Because, and businessman Alexandre Kartalis to buy the song catalogue of Claude François from the singer's sons for 5 million euros. Xavier Niel was already involved in the sector. In 2007, he invested 250,000 euros (20% of the capital) in Deezer, an on-demand music streaming service on the internet that had 20 million users and 1. 4 million subscribers by the end of 2011. The collection of Cloclo's hits ("Alexandrie-Alexandra", "Comme d'habitude", "Magnolia", etc. ) generates several hundred thousand euros in royalties per year, including 333,000 euros from exports alone. Xavier Niel and Olivier Rosenfeld also jointly invested in the Belgian open-source software publisher OpenERP in February 2010."

"Iliad does not consider itself a low-cost company but rather a low-cost group. As a challenger, unnecessary expenses in the house are not taken lightly. There are no company cars. Expense reports are rare and closely scrutinized."

"Decisions are made collaboratively. "I rely on people who know how to do everything I don't know how to do," says Xavier Niel during an episode of "Dessine-moi un décideur" (Draw me a decision-maker). His area of expertise is strategy and marketing."

"The businessman, whose fortune was estimated at 210 million euros that year by Challenges magazine, placing him 202nd in France, sets up his own business. He takes over the capital of the French holding company Louis-Dreyfus SAS, which holds 39. 4% of gas and electricity supplier Direct Énergie and 50% of Neoen (solar energy) and renames the whole company Impala."

"For AOL, which sells a similar subscription for 45 euros per month, the math is simple. If the company aligns, it loses 30% of its revenue. That's one billion euros. Impossible. "It's not because someone jumps off a cliff that I necessarily have to follow him," he tells journalists during a conference call. Today, Free and Xavier Niel are still there. AOL is not."

"Free has developed a DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer or multiplex for digital subscriber lines). This device allows the traditional copper line that runs to the final subscriber to be integrated into the internet network by processing the information flow through a modem (modulator-demodulator) that converts computer digital data into a modulated signal that can be transmitted through an analog network such as a telephone line and vice versa. The"

"Its strength lies in its ability to maintain a very simple model. With just one offering while other players in the sector promote very complex offers with bloated teams to manage them. " To add insult to injury, Iliad does not miss a chance to poke fun at the competition through humorous advertising campaigns. After the slogan "What's good about it being free is that we don't have to pay!" which accompanied the arrival of Free. fr, the Crétin. fr advertising campaign designed in 2002 by Publicis Dialog for the Freebox does not fail to leave the audience laughing on the side of the newcomer. An imaginary access provider is portrayed where it is not pleasant to be a subscriber with customers entangled in cables, limited services and collections of bills. . . and, as the final gimmick "cretin. fr, try it, or else with Free. . . ". No need to be an insider to understand the message."

"So we suffered the Free wave and the €29. 99 price became the norm for everyone. We heard the same discourse as today that Free was destroying value but, little by little, the company found its model. ""

"After investing 22 million in unbundling in 2002 and 80 million in 2003, Iliad is counting on the money raised on the stock market to devote between 100 and 120 million more. While the end of the monopoly and the opening of the telecom market which follows create a formidable air movement translated by the emergence of some one hundred and twenty operators of all sizes, Iliad continues to strengthen in this sector. At the end of 2001, the group acquired One. Tel. Placed in receivership following the difficulties of its Australian parent company, this fixed telecommunications operator then had 480,000 registered customers, of which 180,000 were active with 30 million francs in losses for a turnover of 38 million that year."

"the Prime Minister's services have decided to refer the matter of obstacles to the development of virtual operators to the Competition Council and to request appropriate measures if necessary. These actors, who buy mobile communication minutes from Orange and SFR at a price 35 to 40% lower than their selling price to consumers to market under their own brand, still struggle to make a breakthrough in the market."

"Xavier Niel does not want to hear about selling. 'And what would I do if I sold? Walk around in a onesie all day? Analysts have been dreaming for years that I give up on this. I don't give a damn. Life is not only about mergers and acquisitions,' he said in an interview with Management-Capital magazine in March 2008. 'During good years, I receive a buyout offer every week. I listen politely because I am well-mannered. And I say no. The story of Free is not over. ' As he affirms on Décideurs TV cameras, the question of money is no longer a problem for him. 'I work for pleasure, I don't have a taste for luxury,' he assures. ""

"Quickly restructured under the umbrella of Iliad, the company has found profitability again, once its offering was repositioned with an aggressive pricing policy aimed at increasing its market share."

"Carlo de Benedetti"

"The economic equation of Free? There is its own technology, but also and above all its investment in unbundling the local loop, a technical operation that allows the operator to control access to the subscriber and largely bypass the dependence on France Telecom's physical network."

"he fought tooth and nail against Vincent Bolloré when the latter launched a stock raid against the group in the fall of 1997 to impose its dismantling. The choices were to either sell off the construction division to finance the development of new businesses or to divest one of the service activities. The battle ended a year later with Martin's victory and the exit of the "little prince of cash flow" from the capital with a gain of 1. 5 billion francs."

"The new entrant will have the right to purchase capacity on the networks of its three major competitors for six years as long as its own network covers 25% of the population. It is planned that the two other blocks of 5 MHz will be allocated in a second phase."

""There are two people in marketing at Free when there are a hundred at competitors. Xavier Niel was able to impose the brand simply by word of mouth by marrying technical excellence with intuitive marketing. ""

""Xavier Niel has been innovative both technically with the brilliant idea of 'triple play' and commercially. Not only did he set a very low price but he never touched it and constantly offered additional services to his customers. This is what kept them loyal."

"Under our stewardship Play became the fifth-most-valuable brand in the country, greatly increasing the value of my 50 per cent holding. In the ten years since launch, Play gained more than 15 million subscribers, becoming Poland’s biggest mobile phone operator, with a 28 per cent subscriber market share. Novator led a flotation of Play on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in July 2017, with a market capitalisation of €2.2 billion. The company distributed more than €330 million in dividends over the following three years, and Novator fully exited in 2020, selling its remaining stake to French investor Iliad Group, led by Xavier Niel."