French pay-TV company Canal+, together with its partners the US internet provider America Online Inc, German publisher Bertelsmann AG and French long-distance phone operation Cegetel, has announced the entry into the pilot stage of a service offering internet access via satellite. The pilot stage, due to last two months, involves 200 frequent users of the net from all over France, receiving its service for the comments and criticism, after which the consortium plans to proceed to a commercial launch in mid-year. A spokesman for the TV channel said that, in addition to offering fast access to the internet, Canal+ is also putting value-added content on the web, its contribution depending heavily on films and sports, offering both view-on-request and a selection of movies playing constantly. The four companies teamed to develop internet online services at the end of January, as a result of which Canal+ and Cegetel are to take the majority share in AOL France. The introduction of the pilot scheme came days after the country’s leading telco, France Telecom, launched a service offering Internet access via cable.
