The appetite of the French for fiber optics is undeniable. This is revealed by the latest observatory of Arcep, the telecoms regulator, published on Thursday. According to the sector policeman, 1 million households subscribed to a fiber subscription during the first half. In one year, this technology has attracted 4 million customers. Fiber now totals 15.5 million subscribers. “It thus represents 49% of high and very high speed access”, notes the independent administration. In parallel, and very logically, the number of ADSL subscribers, on the old copper network, continues to plunge. The number of subscribers stands at 12.3 million. It fell by 2.8 million in one year.
This appetite of the French for very high-speed fixed Internet stems directly from the country’s good fiber coverage. Today, no less than 72% of premises are eligible for this technology. Operators have been working hard on deployment in recent years. The government objective of 80% of premises eligible for fiber by the end of 2022 should, moreover, be largely exceeded. Today, professionals estimate that we will be rather close to 85%.
Fiber deployment slows down
After accelerating sharply in 2020 and 2021, fiber deployment is slowing down. In the first quarter of 2022, 1.1 million additional premises were made connectable. This is “regarding 20% less than the same period of the previous year”, underlines Arcep. After focusing on large cities, then medium-sized towns and the outskirts of conurbations, operators mainly deploy fiber in rural areas, which are the least profitable due to their low population density. In the first half of the year, 700,000 premises were made connectable there, “i.e. 6% more than over the same period a year earlier”notes the regulator.
On the other hand, Arcep deplores a slowdown in deployments in medium-sized cities and the outskirts of large conurbations. Here, Orange and SFR have this responsibility. The regulator finds that “less than 300,000 locals” have been made connectable. That’s to say “a pace comparable to that observed in 2016”… In addition, Arcep castigates the “insufficient rhythm observed in very dense areas”namely the big cities. « The production of new lines has even decreased by a third compared to the same period last year”, regrets the regulator. Clearly, there is still work to do.
