Altice France

What Altice France does

Altice France is a Paris-headquartered private telecommunications holding company founded by Patrick Drahi and the parent of SFR, France's second-largest telecom operator. Through SFR and its sub-brands (RED by SFR for low-cost consumer, SFR Business for B2B), the group serves more than 25 million B2C and B2B customers with mobile, fixed broadband, fiber, pay-TV, and enterprise IT services across France. The underlying network comprises 40+ million FTTH-eligible sockets (operated via the XpFibre subsidiary, which manages 7.3 million fiber connections) and 99.9% 4G population coverage, with 5G services and a wholesale FTTH reference offer that monetizes the infrastructure to other carriers. Network construction and field maintenance are performed by ERT Technologies (1,350 employees across 10 regional agencies and 40 depots).

The business model is dominated by recurring subscription revenue from B2C mobile/fixed bundles, B2B enterprise contracts (including cloud integration and managed services), wholesale carrier access, and equipment sales through SFR retail stores and digital channels. The company is highly levered: a €25 billion pre-restructuring debt load was cut by approximately €9 billion in 2024–2025 via a Liability Management Exercise that converted bondholder debt into equity (with Elliott Investment Management emerging as a key financial stakeholder), and Altice France announced a memorandum of understanding on June 6, 2026 to sell SFR to a consortium of Bouygues Telecom (42%), Free-iliad (31%), and Orange (27%) for an enterprise value of €20.35 billion, with closing targeted for H2 2027 subject to competition authority review. Recent product and technology initiatives — including the eco-designed SFR Box 10+, the SFR Navigation Protégée cybersecurity add-on, an internal generative-AI chatbot (ImpAct) on Google Cloud Vertex AI with Gemini, and an SFR Analytics MLOps platform on Airflow/GitLab/Docker — are aimed at defending ARPU and operational efficiency in a mature, saturated French telecom market while the divestiture process advances.

Name

Altice France

Legal name

Altice France

Website

https://alticefrance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Altice France is a Paris-based private telecom holding company whose subsidiary SFR is France's #2 operator, serving 25+ million B2C and B2B customers with mobile, fixed broadband, fiber, TV, and enterprise services over 40+ million FTTH-eligible sockets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711), Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (517112), Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale Access & Last-Mile Leasing (local loops, bitstream, unbundling) (HDAIAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Carrier Interconnection & Peering Exchanges (IXPs, private interconnect, cross-connect) (HDAIAEAG)

Keywords

• Telecommunications services
• Mobile network operator
• Fiber broadband
• Enterprise connectivity
• 5G services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. B2C Telecommunications Services: Recurring subscription revenue from mobile and fixed telecommunications services to individual consumers, including voice, data, and TV packages under the SFR and RED by SFR brands.
2. B2B Enterprise Telecommunications: Business telecommunications solutions including mobile plans, fixed line services, cloud integration and managed services for businesses of all sizes from SME to large enterprises.
3. Wholesale Network Access: Revenue from providing other telecom operators access to SFR's network infrastructure including FTTH reference offers, mobile termination and interconnection services.
4. Equipment Sales: Sales of telecommunications equipment including mobile devices, routers, set-top boxes and related accessories through retail stores and online channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Altice France, through its SFR brand, is France's second-largest telecommunications operator providing mobile, fixed internet, TV, and bundled telecommunications services to over 25 million B2C and B2B customers. The company operates an extensive network including 40+ million FTTH eligible sockets, 99.9% 4G population coverage, and was the first operator to launch 5G in France. Its portfolio includes consumer brands (SFR, RED by SFR), B2B services (SFR Business), fiber infrastructure (XpFibre), network construction (ERT Technologies), and wholesale network access for other operators.

Product overview

Altice France operates as a unified telecommunications platform offering mobile, fixed broadband, fiber, and enterprise services primarily through its SFR brand. The product portfolio includes the core SFR telecommunications service serving 25 million clients, the budget Red by SFR sub-brand, the B2B-focused SFR Business division, and infrastructure subsidiaries XpFibre (fiber network operator with 7.3M connections) and ERT Technologies (network construction/maintenance). Consumer offerings include the latest SFR Box 10+ fiber box, the Navigation Protégée security service, and La Factory mobile protection. The company also acquired MVNO Prixtel in 2021 to expand its mobile virtual network operator capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SFR: Main telecommunications brand of Altice France, serving consumers, businesses, and operators
• Red by SFR
• SFR Business
• RMC Sport

Products and services

• SFR Mobile and Fixed Telecommunications

Quantifiable outcome

• 25+ million clients served through SFR brand
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bouygues Telecom, Free-iliad Group and Orange ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2026A consortium of France's three major telecom operators signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire SFR from Altice France for €20.35 billion enterprise value. Bouygues Telecom takes 42%, Free-iliad Group 31%, and Orange 27% of the transaction. Orange's share is approximately €5.6 billion for 27%, with potential earn-out up to €0.2 billion. The deal includes break-up fees of €0.1-2 billion and is expected to close H2 2027 pending regulatory approval.
• PrixtelminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2021Altice France acquired the entire capital of French MVNO Prixtel in June 2021. Prixtel served over 300,000 customers and operated as a mobile virtual network operator using Altice/SFR's network infrastructure. The deal was managed by Laurent Halimi, Altice's Head of M&A.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationSFR has made a strategic choice for cloud infrastructure with a strong partnership with Google, utilizing Vertex AI and Google Cloud services for AI/ML operations. The partnership enables work on generative AI projects using Google's LLM Gemini, providing infrastructure for data science initiatives and industrializing AI projects.
• Collectivités territoriales (Local Government)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerXpFibre, Altice France's subsidiary, operates in public-private partnerships with local government collectivities for digital infrastructure development. This includes RIP (Réseaux d'Initiative Publique) through public service delegations and AMEL (Appel à Manifestation d'Engagements Locaux) deployments in 21 public initiative networks.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Liberty Global: European cable and broadband operator (Virgin Media O2, Sunrise, Telenet); comparable wholesale/carrier business model alongside B2C fiber offerings as a former Altice counterparty in Europe.
• Telefónica: Spanish-headquartered integrated telecom operator with mobile and fiber operations across Europe, comparable in scale, B2C/B2B mix, and wholesale carrier services.
• Verizon Communications: US integrated wireless and fiber operator with similar mobile, fixed broadband, and enterprise services mix as SFR, though at materially larger scale.
• Deutsche Telekom: Europe's largest integrated telecom operator and parent of T-Mobile; comparable to Altice France in combining fixed-mobile, content, and B2B services across multiple European footprints.
• Vodafone: Global mobile and fixed telecom operator with European footprint similar in scale and structure to Altice France's integrated mobile-plus-fiber plus business services model.

Direct peers

• Iliad / Free: Iliad's Free brand is France's fourth mobile network operator and a major fixed broadband player. Holds 31% of the SFR acquisition consortium and competes directly with SFR on both mobile and fiber markets.
• Orange: France's largest integrated telecom operator providing mobile, fixed broadband, and enterprise services. Orange is the lead consortium member acquiring SFR, and competes head-to-head with SFR in B2C, B2B and wholesale across France.
• Bouygues Telecom: French mobile and fixed telecom operator, one of four national carriers and a 42% stakeholder in the SFR acquisition consortium. Competes directly with SFR on consumer mobile, fiber, and B2B services.

Regional players

• BT Group: UK incumbent operator with mobile (EE) and fiber infrastructure; comparable to SFR's integrated mobile-fixed-fiber business but serving the UK market.
• T-Mobile US: Large-scale mobile-first carrier expanding into fixed wireless and fiber, comparable to SFR's mobile-led strategy with growing fiber and 5G monetization angles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sfr_groupe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sfr
• Facebookfacebook.com/SFR

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Altice France