Altice phased out the Virgin Mobile brand in France as part of a wider shift to using the SFR name, reported AFP.

There have been reports for several months of how Altice is gradually dropping the Virgin Mobile France brand. It acquired the MVNO two years ago. In addition, it is dropping the brand of its cable business, Numericable. Instead, it is converging mobile and fixed services under the SFR brand.

Altice began closing Virgin Mobile stores earlier this year, as well as ceasing to sell smartphones and fixed plans online. However, existing customers are not migrated automatically. Those wanting to move to the Red by SFR tariff are sent a new SIM, as well as a contract.

Numericable first announced it was in exclusive talks with Omer Telecom, the holding company which operates Virgin Mobile France, in May 2014.

The deal was announced shortly after Altice was chosen by Vivendi as the successful suitor for SFR, with its offer of €13.5 billion in cash and a 20 per cent stake for Vivendi in the merged entity.

There are other examples of  how Altice is consolidating its various interests  under the SFR brand. A month ago, Altice announced the birth of what it termed “the new SFR: the first operator in France to embody telecom / media-content convergence”.  In addition to its underlying mobile and fixed infrastructure, the SFR branding extended across an array of content.

The company said its content was sub divided into five pillars: SFR Presse, SFR Sport, SFR News, SFR Play and SFR Family.