With 24,000 ICT businesses - more than London, or Dublin, Barcelona and Munich combined -, Paris Region is Europe's leading centre for information and communications technology (ICT). Paris Region boasts the highest concentration of specialist ICT personnel in the European Union* and is Europe's premier region for R&D, second in the number of patents registered.

This sector covers three main areas of activity: IT services, telecommunications and optics & nanotechnology. Businesses in Paris Region span the entire chain of activities from R&D and manufacturing through to logistics and marketing, in a wide range of sectors (automotive, aerospace, security and defence, telecommunications, finance, enterprise management, etc.). The Region equally hosts all the major decision-making centres, representing huge development potential.

 

* source Eurostat

 

PARIS REGION: A BOOMING MARKET

 

The French are massive broadband users, with 10.5 million of them taking advantage of triple play technology (combined Internet, TV and telephone), representing 41% growth in 2005. This is a highly competitive market fought over by a large number of operators (Orange, Free, Neuf Cegetel, T-Online, Telecom Italia, etc.).

Following the recent expansion of the 3G network, the number of mobile phone users increased by 4 million in 2006 (compared with 1.2 million in 2005).

Paris Region is among those with the highest number of mobile phone users: 47 million (including 14 million WAP users) generating revenues of €3.6 billion.

The digital television market started to expand in 2005, the network reaching a coverage ratio of 66% by October 2006. The DTTV network had a coverage ration of 85% by the end of 2007.

Paris Region also has a buoyant software market and is home to 3,200 software development companies employing 62,000 people as well as the R&D centres of the industry's big names (Alcatel Lucent, LG, Motorola, etc.).

 

The range and high level of ICT activities in Paris Region have led to the creation of two complementary world-class competitiveness clusters: System@tic for complex systems and software and Cap Digital for digital technologies and applications. The emergence of a number of international networks (ARTEMIS, OMNI, NET, etc.) has opened up the Region's businesses to the global marketplace and boosted their innovation capability.

Paris Region boasts more than 18,000 researchers in ICT.

Public-sector research organisations in the region include INRIA (the national computing and systems science institute), CEA (the atomic energy commission), CNRS (the national scientific research centre), École Centrale de Paris, ENS Cachan, Paris Sud and Versailles-Saint-Quentin universities, ESIEE (centre for advanced technical and scientific education), IEF (the institute for fundamental electronics), Laboratoire Lutin, etc. - all with teams engaged in cutting-edge research.

In the private sector, a number of global high-tech companies have set up their R&D centres in the Region, including Microsoft which recently opened a joint research centre with INRIA.

 

Top-quality training fosters a dynamic, creative approach and the Region offers courses in imaging/3D and video games at internationally-recognised institutions like Les Gobelins and ISART Digital (advanced institute for digital art) which complement the Region's more traditional universities and engineering schools.