French users call second Net boycott

Surfers maintain pressure on France Telecom to cut call charges

French Internet users are planning a second Net boycott at the end of this month as part of their ongoing attempt to force France Telecom to cut dial-up call charges. User group the Association of Unhappy Internauts first called for a boycott of the Net on 13 December. That strike went ahead and was hailed a success by the group in terms of user support, if not through France Telecom (FT) cutting prices. The Association claimed 50-90 per cent of French Net users followed its call -- FT said the figure was more like ten per cent. The Association wants FT to introduce a flat FF200 ($36) fee for unlimited local calls. FT, however, said that it prefers to offer discounts for heavy users. However, after the strike FT did introduce cuts to the charges it makes to other telecoms companies who offer competing services across its network. The second strike has been set for 31 January. ®