Iliad

What Iliad does

Iliad is a major European telecommunications group operating mobile and fixed-line services through the Free brand in France, iliad Italia in Italy, and Play in Poland, serving approximately 52 million subscribers as of March 2026. Founded in 1990 with the Free market entry in 2012, Iliad disrupted French telecom through aggressive converged (4G/5G) pricing and now operates across three European markets plus a reference shareholder position in Tele2 (Sweden and the Baltics). The group employs nearly 18,000 people, is publicly listed as ILD on Euronext Paris, and reports FY2025 revenue of €10.3 billion (+3.2% YoY) with Q1 2026 revenue of €2.61 billion (+2.9% YoY) and operating free cash flow of approximately €600 million (+18% YoY). Revenue is generated primarily through recurring subscription fees for mobile, broadband/fiber, and converged offers across the B2C mass market, with secondary contributions from enterprise services via Free Pro, Scaleway (cloud infrastructure), Stancer (payments), and ITrust (cybersecurity, 55% owned).

Beyond connectivity, Iliad is building a cloud and AI infrastructure franchise through Scaleway, which hosts regulated workloads such as the French Health Data Hub and is committed to a €4 billion AI Gigafactory investment via the AION consortium targeting 100,000 AI accelerators. The group has also launched Free Pro Cyber XPR powered by ITrust's AI cybersecurity platform and is exploring a tower JV to monetize passive network infrastructure. Iliad's leverage ratio stands at 2.2x, and it secured €10 billion in financing in June 2026 — €6.5 billion earmarked for its ~31% share of a €20.35 billion consortium bid for SFR and €3.5 billion for refinancing. The group received a €42 million CNIL fine following a cyber-attack affecting 24 million customers, underscoring both the scale of its data footprint and the execution risk in cybersecurity and data protection.

Name

Iliad

Legal name

iliad

Website

https://iliad.fr

Company type

Public

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Iliad is a European telecommunications group operating mobile and fixed-line services across France, Italy, and Poland through its Free, iliad Italia, and Play brands, serving approximately 52 million subscribers, with growing cloud (Scaleway) and cybersecurity operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Mobile Services Revenue: Recurring subscription revenue from mobile services across France (15.7 million mobile subscribers), Italy (12.7 million mobile subscribers), and Poland (13.5 million mobile subscribers). Revenue generated from monthly service plans for voice, data, and messaging.
2. Fixed/Broadband Services Revenue: Recurring subscription revenue from fixed broadband and fiber services: 7.6 million Haut Débit/Très haut Débit subscribers in France (including 6.8 million Fiber), 0.5 million Fiber subscribers in Italy, and 1.7 million Haut et Très Débit subscribers in Poland.
3. Cloud Services (Scaleway): Scaleway provides cloud services including GPU-as-a-service, cloud regions in France, Poland, Netherlands, and expansion to Italy, Sweden, and Germany. Revenue from cloud compute, storage, and AI infrastructure services targeting enterprise clients seeking data sovereignty.
4. Enterprise Cybersecurity Services (Free Pro): Free Pro offers cybersecurity solutions including Cyber XPR targeting SMEs, large companies, and public actors. Professional solutions and managed services for business customers.
5. Professional Solutions (Free Pro): B2B offerings including IoT, managed services, cloud infrastructure services for business customers in France.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Iliad provides mobile and fixed telecommunications services (including 5G, 4G, fiber, and xDSL broadband) to consumers in France, Italy, and Poland under the Free, iliad Italia, and Play brands, serving approximately 52 million subscribers. Through subsidiaries Free Pro and Scaleway, the group delivers enterprise cybersecurity (Cyber XPR), managed IT services, cloud/AI infrastructure, and payment services (Stancer), positioning itself as a European digital-sovereignty-focused operator.

Product overview

Iliad is a major European telecommunications group operating a multi-brand portfolio across consumer and business segments. The core offering consists of mobile and fixed telecommunications services (Free in France, iliad Italia, Play in Poland) serving approximately 52 million subscribers across three markets. The group has expanded into cloud and AI infrastructure through Scaleway, positioned as a European sovereign cloud alternative to US hyperscalers. For business customers, Free Pro offers telecommunications and cybersecurity solutions including Cyber XPR (powered by ITrust's AI platform). The portfolio also includes ancillary services like payment solutions (Stancer), OTT technology (Redge Technologies), and regional operations in the Caribbean (Free Caraïbe) and Indian Ocean (TELCO OI). The group has pursued growth through acquisitions including Play (Poland, 2020), UPC Polska (2022), and ITrust cybersecurity capabilities (2023), with ongoing strategic initiatives including the SFR acquisition and AI gigafactory consortium (AION).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Free Pro: Professional solutions branch offering telecommunications and IT services to businesses
• Cyber XPR
• iliadbusiness
• Free Caraïbe
• TELCO OI
• Redge Technologies

Products and services

• Free
• Free Mobile
• iliad Italia
• Play
• Scaleway
• Free Pro
• Cyber XPR
• Stancer
• iliadbusiness
• Free Caraïbe
• TELCO OI
• Free Max

Quantifiable outcome

• Europe's leading growth telecom operator for 4 consecutive years (2022-2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core, strategic and historical.

• StatkraftminorOthers · 24 June 2026Polish telecom operator Play, controlled by Iliad, extended its renewable power supply contract with Statkraft for three years. From January 1, 2027, Play will increase renewable energy volume to 51 GWh annually, reflecting Play's commitment to sourcing renewable energy for operations.
• AION Consortium (Ardian, Orange, EDF, Bull, Capgemini)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026AION consortium of eight French and European companies formed to bid for EU's AI Gigafactories initiative to build a €10 billion AI data center campus in France. Iliad committed €4 billion through Scaleway. Project aims to strengthen European tech sovereignty with 100,000 AI chips and gigawatt-capacity goal.
• Infravia Capital PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Iliad Group finalized a partnership with InfraVia to support the expansion of its OpCore hyperscale data center business. OpCore is a joint venture emphasizing digital sovereignty and AI computing demand across Europe.
• CK HutchisonstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2026CK Hutchison is considering listing its global telecommunications business and exploring possible merger of its Italian telecom unit with Iliad, which could impact spinoff plans. Telecom unit could be valued at approximately $20 billion.
• EDFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 November 2025French utility EDF and OpCore (Iliad/InfraVia joint venture) entered exclusive negotiations to develop a hyperscale data center on EDF's former coal-fired plant site at Montereau-Vallee-de-la-Seine. Project expected to cost around €4 billion with several hundred megawatts capacity.
• Wind TrestrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 October 2025Wind Tre and Iliad resumed early-stage discussions about a possible merger in Italy. A potential deal could consolidate Italy's telecom market reducing operators from four to three, with Iliad potentially valued over €3 billion.
• CK Hutchison (Wind Tre)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2025Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison explored a potential tie-up of its Italian telecom unit Wind Tre with Iliad's Italian operations. The possible joint venture would consolidate Italy's telecom market.
• ITrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 April 2023Iliad acquired a 55% stake in French cybersecurity firm ITrust through its subsidiary Free Pro to expand into the cybersecurity sector and launch Cyber XPR service. ITrust's proprietary AI-based cybersecurity platform serves over 400 clients including public sector entities.
• Liberty Global (UPC Polska)historicalOthers · 4 April 2022Iliad's Play completed acquisition of UPC Polska from Liberty Global for PLN7 billion (€1.52 billion). Transaction combined Play's mobile network with UPC's internet, TV, and telecom services, creating major service convergence in Poland.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Orange: Orange is France's incumbent telecom operator and Iliad's primary domestic competitor across mobile, fixed broadband, and B2B services. Orange is also Iliad's co-bidder in the €20.35B SFR consortium, making it the most directly comparable peer in Iliad's core market.
• Bouygues Telecom: Bouygues Telecom is the third major French mobile and fixed operator, with a similar convergent B2C/B2B offering and the same disruptive heritage as Iliad. Bouygues is also Iliad's co-bidder in the SFR consortium, taking a 42% stake in the deal.
• Wind Tre: Wind Tre is Italy's third-largest mobile operator, owned by CK Hutchison, and is in active merger discussions with Iliad Italia. As Iliad's potential consolidation partner in Italy, Wind Tre is the most directly comparable peer in Iliad's second-largest market.
• Tele2: Tele2 is a leading mobile and fixed operator in Sweden and the Baltics, in which Iliad became the reference shareholder in April 2024. Tele2 is comparable in scale, geographic mix (multi-country European), and focus on converged mobile/broadband offers.
• OVHcloud: OVHcloud is a France-based European cloud provider and the most direct competitor to Iliad's Scaleway subsidiary. Both target enterprise and public sector clients with sovereign European cloud and AI infrastructure, competing for the same EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom is Europe's largest telecom operator, owning T-Mobile across multiple European markets including Poland (where Iliad's Play also competes). DT is a broad incumbent with overlapping converged mobile/fixed services but at materially larger scale than Iliad.
• Vodafone: Vodafone is a major European telecom incumbent operating across multiple countries with converged mobile, fixed, and B2B services. While Vodafone does not directly compete with Iliad in its core French market, it is broadly comparable as a pan-European operator pursuing convergence and B2B growth.
• Telefónica: Telefónica is a major European and Latin American telecom incumbent with converged mobile, fixed, and B2B services across multiple geographies. Telefónica is broadly comparable to Iliad as a multi-country European operator focused on convergence and digital services.

Regional players

• Proximus: Proximus is the incumbent Belgian mobile, fixed, and B2B operator. While operating in a different geography than Iliad, Proximus is comparable in scale and product mix (converged consumer + enterprise + ICT services), making it a relevant regional benchmark.
• Sunrise: Sunrise is a major Swiss mobile and fixed operator with a converged B2C/B2B offering comparable in profile to Iliad's Free ecosystem. Sunrise operates primarily in Switzerland rather than Iliad's core markets but offers a useful regional benchmark for converged telecom economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GroupeIliad
• YouTubevimeo.com/iliad
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groupe-iliad

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A8 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Iliad