MILAN (Standard&Poor's) March 19, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the French government's plan to levy an annual 1% tax on mobile telephone operators' revenues upon renewal of the companies' GSM licences would leave the ratings and outlooks on these companies (or on their parent companies) unaffected. Holders of a GSM license in France include Orange S.A. (BBB+/Positive/--), the mobile subsidiary of France Telecom (BBB+/Positive/A-2); SFR (not rated), which is 56%-owned by Vivendi Universal S.A. (BB/Watch Pos/B) and 44%-owned by Vodafone Group PLC (A/Stable/A-1); and Bouygues Telecom S.A. (not rated), 83%-owned by French conglomerate Bouygues S.A. (A-/Stable/A-2). Orange and SFR are to renew their licenses in 2006 for 15 years, and Bouygues Telecom is to renew
