These
innovations require modernising and extending current networks, however.
Despite the government's wishes, more than half of French territory, for
example, remains to be covered by a broadband mobile network. In June
2008, only 12% of subscribers had gone over to third-generation (3G)
mobile phones, twice as few as in Sweden, Norway or Italy. Improving
this situation will inevitably require substantial investments. These
risk being delayed by the public authorities' regulatory appetite and by
ill-advised French tax policy.