The 2020 outbreak caused by the Covid-19 crisis has subsided. But the degree of conflict between consumers and telecom operators remains high. In 2021, the number of referrals received by the mediation of electronic communications, the association which, since 2003, manages disputes between operators and subscribers, increased by 1%, with 12,058 files. In 2020, activity had jumped by 13%: the connectivity requirements of the French during confinement, whether for teleworking or for school at home, had caused connection needs to explode and, consequently, litigation. .
Despite this high volume, close to that of the energy mediator, “There is no resumption of conflict between consumers and telecom operators”, estimates Valérie Alvarez, mediator of electronic communications since May 2019, who submits, Tuesday, February 15, her annual report to the telecoms regulator (Arcep), to the repression of fraud (DGCCRF) and to several associations. She explains the sustained activity of 2021 above all by “the increase in the number of admissible files, in particular thanks to the improvement of the online declaration tool”. 83% of the files processed were opened on the association’s website. Mediation brings together almost all French operators, including the four largest, Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom.
The mediator, however, notes a difference compared to previous years: a consequence of the accelerated deployment of optical fiber since the outbreak of the pandemic, it has become the second subject of contention between subscribers and operators, relegating ADSL to third place. The subjects of tension are not lacking: household eligible for fiber but not connectable, support for work between the connection cabinet and the dwelling, delay between taking out the subscription and the actual connection, wild line cuts by installers to make room for their own customer…
“Provide a practical and realistic solution”
“The complexity linked to the arrival of new technologies, such as fiber, with hitherto unknown problems, lengthens the processing time of files” mediation, recognizes Valérie Alvarez. On these subjects, the commercial operator is often not the only one involved, Orange, Bouygues Telecom, Free, SFR and the others calling on subcontractors, such as Scopelec, Spie or Solutions 30 to build the network, which which adds an additional layer of potential litigation.
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