'Despite the high subscriber base, the situation regarding IPTV adoption in France is not quite as straightforward as it first appears,' says Richardson. 'Subscriber numbers are high, but are based on the number of customers who have access to the service for free via their triple-play bundle, rather than those who are actually using and paying for it.'

A recent Gartner survey found that only 39% of market leader Free's customers who have a Freebox actually use it to watch TV. Of the people who used the Freebox, 37% are paying a monthly subscription to the provider. Average revenues therefore remain relatively low.

Furthermore, Richardson warns that, because of Free's early entry into the market, the Freebox is quickly becoming outdated, and the company will need to replace its MPEG2 set top boxes to maximize the number of households which can receive its IPTV services, and to allow for HDTV distribution in the future.