2023-09-08 12:26:00
The account is not there. Here is the content of the latest observatory from Arcep, the telecoms regulator, concerning the deployment of fiber networks in France. In this study published this Thursday, the institution chaired by Laure de La Raudière has a new rant. She notes a worrying drop in the pace of deployments by Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free. Arcep does not specify it, but it is the objective of “fiber for all” in 2025, promised by Emmanuel Macron, which seems to be moving away.
According to Arcep, 36.2 million premises can now be connected to fiber, out of the 43.8 million identified. In total, 83% of French people can benefit from this technology in the second quarter, two points more than in the previous quarter. But this is not enough, insists the regulator. “During the second quarter, 870,000 additional premises were made connectable to fiber, i.e. 20% less than over the same period of the previous year”he specifies.
“Fall of deployment”
Arcep deplores, in particular, “deployment fall” in cities and moderately dense areas. In these territories that Orange and SFR should have already covered in full, only 130,000 premises have been made connectable, “a drop of half compared to the same period last year”. “We have to go back to 2014 to observe such weak quarterly progress in these areas”adds the regulator.
The other problem concerns so-called “very dense” areas, in short, large cities and the outskirts of large cities. Here too, the pace of deployments “remains very insufficient”. Arcep counted 50,000 new connectable premises, “a drop of almost half compared to the same period last year”. The problem is that in these territories, Orange SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free have, to date, no deployment obligation…
Towards a new agreement with operators?
The matter is being closely monitored by the government. The executive is negotiating today with operators to ensure that the promise of a fully fiber-enabled France in 2025 is kept. It does not exclude, in passing, sanctioning certain operators. Orange is particularly in its sights, to the extent that the operator has not respected its coverage commitments in moderately dense areas.
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