France Telecom launches its Internet service on May 2, aiming for a 30% market share in France by 2000. Wanadoo aims to be a French inner sea in the wild Internet ocean and is targeted at the mass consumer and from late 1996, it will offer transaction services. It will have its own search program, Youpie!, for French content on the network. It has an agreement with Netscape Communications Corp to use the Navigator browser and is in talks with Microsoft Corp to use Explorer. Subscription to Wanadoo, after a free trial period, is $37 sign-on fee and then $11 a month for three hours connection or 21.8 for 15 hours. An additional hour will cost $4. These prices are higher than France Telecom’s main rival AOL France, but lower than Infonie. Wanadoo will provide some services such as news, weather, cultural information and it will also be a kiosk, giving access to third party service providers and later in 1996 a pay-per-view service. To facilitate the move by the French from Minitel to Internet, Wanadoo will initially incorporate Minitel.
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