Paris, France – August 15, 2026 – Iliad, a leading European telecommunications and digital infrastructure provider, announced today a strong performance for the first half of 2026, with total revenue reaching €5.24 billion. This represents a significant 3 percent increase compared to €5.09 billion in the same period last year. The robust financial results are underpinned by sustained subscriber growth across its key markets, a strategic shift towards high-speed fiber connectivity, continuous enhancements to its mobile network infrastructure, and an expanding demand for its digital and cloud services, particularly within the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector.
H1 2026: A Period of Consistent Growth and Strategic Momentum
The first half of 2026 has been a testament to Iliad’s enduring strategy of offering competitive value while investing in future-proof technologies. The company’s organic service revenue saw an impressive 3.4 percent rise, solidifying Iliad’s position as the growth leader among major European telecom operators for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year. Service revenue itself climbed to €4.84 billion, a 3.1 percent uplift, while equipment revenue contributed an additional €402 million, marking a 2.5 percent increase. This multifaceted growth trajectory highlights the company’s ability to effectively monetize its expanding subscriber base and diverse service offerings.
As of June 2026, Iliad’s total subscriber count across France, Italy, and Poland stood at an impressive 52.5 million, up from 51.2 million a year prior. This substantial net increase of approximately 1.3 million subscribers underscores the enduring appeal of Iliad’s brands, including Free in France, Iliad Italia, and Play in Poland.
France: A Foundation of Stability and Fiber-Driven Advancement
In its home market, France, Iliad generated €3.32 billion in revenue during the first half of 2026, reflecting a steady 1.5 percent increase. Service revenue in France rose by 1.1 percent to €3.13 billion, demonstrating the continued demand for core telecommunications services.
The fixed-service segment in France proved to be a significant driver of growth, with revenue increasing by 1.6 percent to €1.88 billion. This upward trend is directly attributable to the accelerating adoption of fiber optic technology and the sustained popularity of Free’s high-speed broadband services. While mobile-service revenue remained largely stable at €1.24 billion, revenue billed directly to mobile subscribers saw a modest increase to €1.15 billion from €1.14 billion in the first half of 2025. Although Iliad has not disclosed specific Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) figures for its mobile segment, this growth in subscriber-billed revenue suggests an improvement in customer monetization strategies.
Over the past twelve months, France has been a substantial contributor to Iliad’s overall financial health, generating €6.68 billion in revenue.
Free’s Subscriber Base Nears 23.5 Million, Fueled by Fiber Dominance
Free, Iliad’s flagship brand in France, concluded the reporting period with a combined mobile and broadband subscriber base of 23.4 million, an increase from 23.1 million a year earlier. The mobile subscriber count grew to 15.8 million from 15.5 million, with a notable shift towards higher-value services. Customers utilizing 4G and 5G plans saw a significant rise, reaching 12.3 million compared to 11.9 million, indicating a strong migration towards advanced mobile offerings.
The broadband subscriber base remained robust at 7.6 million, showing stability year-over-year. However, the true story of growth in the fixed segment lies in the expanding fiber customer base, which surged to 6.9 million from 6.4 million. This impressive growth has propelled fiber to account for a remarkable 90.5 percent of Free’s total broadband base, a substantial leap from 84.5 percent in Q2 2025 and even more so from 67.4 percent just three years prior. Iliad has successfully navigated the transition to a fiber-centric broadband market, achieving over 90 percent fiber adoption while maintaining a strong overall broadband subscriber number.
Furthermore, Iliad reported a marked improvement in both mobile and broadband churn rates in France, signaling enhanced customer loyalty and satisfaction, even without disclosing specific churn figures.
Expanding Fiber Network and Leading 5G Performance in France
Free’s commitment to expanding its ultra-fast broadband infrastructure continues unabated. The company’s connectible Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) footprint in France reached an impressive 41 million sockets by the end of June 2026, up from 39.4 million a year earlier.
On the mobile front, Free’s 5G network now covers 95 percent of the French population. The company’s commitment to network quality has been recognized externally, with Free ranking as a European leader for standalone 5G service quality, achieving a 94 percent score for consistent quality in a recent Opensignal assessment. To further bolster its mobile capabilities, Iliad has entered into a strategic agreement with TDF for the deployment of 2,500 new base transceiver stations (BTS). This initiative is designed to significantly enhance Free’s mobile coverage, network capacity, and overall service quality for its customers.
Italy: A Dynamic Growth Engine Surging Ahead
Italy continues to be Iliad’s most dynamic growth market, and the first half of 2026 was no exception. Revenue in Italy soared by an impressive 10.2 percent to €665 million, with service revenue advancing by 10.1 percent to €659 million. This strong performance underscores Iliad Italia’s successful market penetration and customer acquisition strategies.
The Italian operations concluded June with 13.3 million subscribers, a substantial increase from 12.5 million in the previous year. The mobile customer base alone grew by approximately 700,000 to reach 12.8 million. In the fixed-broadband sector, Iliad Italia demonstrated significant traction, with subscribers growing to 600,000 from 400,000 in Q2 2025. The company proudly announced its leadership in both mobile and fixed-broadband net additions within the Italian market during the first half of the year.
In a move to broaden its home-broadband offering beyond fiber, Iliad launched its 5G Box Casa fixed wireless access service in June. This innovative offering expands the company’s reach into new customer segments. Iliad’s 5G network in Italy now covers an extensive 98 percent of the population, while its FTTH network has passed an impressive 20.1 million homes.
Poland: Steady Expansion and Convergence Momentum
In Poland, Iliad’s revenue saw a healthy increase of 3.5 percent to €1.26 billion, representing 3.8 percent growth. Service revenue climbed by a notable 5.1 percent to €1.06 billion, indicating a growing demand for Iliad’s core telecommunications services in the Polish market.
Mobile revenue billed directly to subscribers increased by 5.3 percent to PLN 2.77 billion, serving as a key indicator of improving mobile ARPU and customer value, even without specific ARPU figures being disclosed. The Polish operations served a total of 15.8 million subscribers, up from 15.5 million a year ago. The active mobile subscriber base grew to 13.6 million from 13.4 million, comprising 9.9 million postpaid and 3.7 million prepaid customers.
The broadband and home-services segment in Poland reached 2.1 million customers, including 1.7 million fixed-broadband subscribers. Iliad reported a reduction in churn and a significant 3.6-percentage-point improvement in convergence, reflecting the increasing adoption of bundled fixed and mobile services, a strategy that enhances customer loyalty and revenue streams.
Expanding Fiber Infrastructure in Poland
Iliad’s Polish network continues to expand its reach, with 5G coverage now available to 90 percent of the population. The company’s fixed-network footprint has reached 11.7 million homes passed, with a substantial 8.2 million of these covered by FTTH infrastructure. A significant portion of this expanded infrastructure, approximately 5.2 million homes within the total footprint, is accessible through Poland’s open-access fiber network, PÅšO. This strategic utilization of open-access networks is crucial for improving home-internet performance and increasing the availability of high-speed broadband services across the country.
Capital Expenditure Normalization and Strategic Infrastructure Investments
Iliad invested €804 million in capital expenditure (Capex) during the first half of 2026, excluding spectrum costs. This figure represents an 8.4 percent decrease from €878 million in the same period last year, as the group continues to normalize its network investment cycles following significant build-outs.
France accounted for the largest portion of this investment, with €561 million, down from €629 million. Italy’s Capex saw a slight reduction to €124 million from €131 million, while investment in Poland remained relatively stable at €119 million. Despite this overall reduction in spending, Iliad has maintained its commitment to strategic growth initiatives. The company has continued to expand fiber coverage, enhance 5G population coverage, deploy more mobile sites, and bolster its data center and cloud computing capabilities.
Scaleway: Driving Digital Infrastructure and Sovereign AI
Iliad is significantly strengthening its presence in the digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors through its cloud subsidiary, Scaleway. The cloud business has reported robust commercial traction and secured several major contract wins during the period.
Scaleway, alongside Iliad’s data center portfolio, now boasts over 400 MW of power capacity, including projects currently under development. Key sites such as Paris 6, Paris 7, Paris 8, and Paris 9 are projected to deliver approximately 120 MW of net IT capacity within the Greater Paris region. This state-of-the-art infrastructure is meticulously designed to support demanding high-density AI computing workloads, token generation processes, and the provision of sovereign European cloud services. Iliad’s strategic roadmap for 2026 explicitly includes substantial investments in cloud platforms, data centers, and dedicated computing capacity for the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.
Strategic SFR Transaction Poised to Reshape French Market
In a move that could significantly reshape the French telecommunications landscape, Iliad has entered into a planned acquisition of the RED subscriber base, along with associated spectrum assets from SFR. This transaction has the potential to create a formidable French operation, boasting a combined mobile and fixed subscriber base exceeding 31 million.
Based on 2025 figures, the enlarged Iliad entity would generate approximately €9 billion in annual revenue. The acquisition of additional spectrum will not only strengthen network economics through increased density and capacity but also significantly enhance Iliad’s ability to invest further in its growth pillars: cloud services, artificial intelligence, and sovereign digital infrastructure. This strategic consolidation signals Iliad’s ambition to solidify its market leadership and drive innovation across multiple technology domains.
The first half of 2026 has clearly demonstrated Iliad’s resilience, strategic foresight, and unwavering commitment to delivering value to its customers and shareholders. With a diversified portfolio, a strong focus on infrastructure development, and ambitious plans for future growth, Iliad is well-positioned to capitalize on the evolving digital landscape.
