Synopsis
France is among the top three countries in Europe for fibre deployment, with growth bolstered both by demand for high bandwidth applications and by alternative operators keen to build networks independent from France Telecom. Fibre infrastructure has benefited from one of Europe’s most far-reaching investment programs, with leading operators such as France Telecom, SFR, Numéricable and Iliad concentrating on the more expensive but robust FttH rather than the fibre/VDSL2 hybrid networks favoured by most other operators in Europe. The country also benefits from a regulator which has promoted fibre effectively, and from legislation introduced since 2008 which facilitates fibre access among providers. This report assesses France’s fibre, wireless and satellite broadband markets in 2011, reviewing the strategies of the principal providers and analysing the regulatory implications for municipal-funded fibre networks and the tightened regulatory regime for the maturing WiFi/WiMAX market.
Key developments:
Orange invests €2 billion to provide 15 million households with FttH by 2015; regulator consults on 3.5GHs spectrum for broadband use; strong growth in number of homes passed by shared fibre networks; government promotes €20 billion investment for national FttH network by 2023; Orange signs joint network deals with Iliad, SFR and Bouygues to expand FttH in rural areas; wireless broadband operators given new transmission site obligations; Paris region commits to €15 million annual investment in fibre rollouts; Nantes extends ‘Omega’ fibre network; regulator’s market data to end2012; telcos’ operating data to Q4 2012; market developments to April 2013.
Companies covered in this report include:
Orange, Iliad (Free), SFR, Numéricable, Bouygues Telecom.
