France has one of the largest broadband subscriber bases in Europe. Growth in recent years has been bolstered by demand for high bandwidth services, which has prompted considerable investment in fibre infrastructure among telcos and regional governments. This has been supported by regulatory measures which have promoted access to Orange's copper and fibre infrastructure for new entrants, as well as a national broadband program which involves an investment of more than 20 billion.
DSL still dominates the broadband market in terms of access lines, though the number of DSL lines is falling as customers are migrated to fibre infrastructure. Fibre deployments have grown substantially in recent years, with all of the major ISPs concentrating their investments in the platform with a view to promoting 1Gb/s services. There efforts have been encouraged by the regulator which is keen to see effective competition in fibre access. By the beginning of 2020 there were almost 7.1 million fibre connections, and fibre accounted for 62% of all superfast broadband connections nationally.
Although the cable footprint only reaches about 40% of the population, the dominant cableco Altice has upgraded its network to compete with DSL and has itself entered the DSL and fibre markets. Altice intends to provide national fibre coverage by 2025.
This report assesses France's fixed broadband market, focussing on cable, DSL and the fast-developing FttP/C sectors. It reviews the strategies of the principal providers such as Orange, Iliad and Altice (SFR Group), and considers the regulatory status of LLU and access to fibre infrastructure.
Key Developments:
This report update includes the regulators market data to December 2019, operator data to Q1 2020, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
Orange, Iliad (Free), Altice (SFR Group), Bouygues Telecom
DSL still dominates the broadband market in terms of access lines, though the number of DSL lines is falling as customers are migrated to fibre infrastructure. Fibre deployments have grown substantially in recent years, with all of the major ISPs concentrating their investments in the platform with a view to promoting 1Gb/s services. There efforts have been encouraged by the regulator which is keen to see effective competition in fibre access. By the beginning of 2020 there were almost 7.1 million fibre connections, and fibre accounted for 62% of all superfast broadband connections nationally.
Although the cable footprint only reaches about 40% of the population, the dominant cableco Altice has upgraded its network to compete with DSL and has itself entered the DSL and fibre markets. Altice intends to provide national fibre coverage by 2025.
This report assesses France's fixed broadband market, focussing on cable, DSL and the fast-developing FttP/C sectors. It reviews the strategies of the principal providers such as Orange, Iliad and Altice (SFR Group), and considers the regulatory status of LLU and access to fibre infrastructure.
Key Developments:
- Government proposes new measures to fill gaps in broadband availability;
- Bouygues Telecom and Cellnex form JV to build a nationwide fibre network;
- Altice increases footprint of its 1Gb/s FttP service;
- DSL subscriber base continues to fall;
- Success of fibre co-investment deals among operators;
This report update includes the regulators market data to December 2019, operator data to Q1 2020, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
Orange, Iliad (Free), Altice (SFR Group), Bouygues Telecom
Table of Contents
1 Introduction and statistical overview
4 Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
5 Other fixed broadband services
List of Tables
List of Charts
List of Exhibits
Companies Mentioned
- Orange
- Iliad (Free)
- Altice (SFR Group)
- Bouygues Telecom