Will French Mobile Market Consolidate?

We might soon get a real-world test of how many mobile service providers a stable market can support, as the three larger mobile service providers continue to face a pricing challenge from Illiad's Free Mobile operation.

SFR, owned by Vivendi, is in the midst of a strategic review that could have SFR merging with at least one other provider in the French market. The other mobile operators are struggling with revenue issues as they lower prices to compete with Free Mobile. 

So there now is growing speculation about industry consolidation. Many executives believe the market will eventually return to just three providers. That would correspond to the "rule of three" that seems to operate in most markets. 

In the meantime, all the providers seem to be looking at ways to reduce operating costs further, the Financial Times reports.