Orange, the French mobile operator, has announced a deal with the French government that will increase Orange's fiber deployment to 1.12 million homes by 2025.
The deployment agreement will include AMII zones, which are the least densely populated areas in the country. The company acknowledged the stark disparity between rural and urban areas, promising to connect over 140,000 homes in underserved areas with fiber.
Deployments in urban areas will continue, with the goal of connecting 300,000 premises by 2025.
"After making a major contribution to the success of the France Très Haut Débit plan (France's superfast broadband plan) in 2022, Orange is once again working with the government to ensure the widespread deployment of fiber by 2025," said Orange CEO Christel Heydemann. "Having already covered 21 million of the 36 million eligible premises in France, we're determined to make this major project a national success, benefiting as many people as possible."
The announcement comes after Orange encountered legal issues regarding the rate of fiber deployment. Orange was fined €26 million by the French Authority for Regulation of Electronic Communications, Mail and Press Distribution (ARCEP) for missing the first deadline for deploying fiber for broadband in 3,000 municipalities across France. The first deadline, in 2020, was missed, and the company was put on notice in March of last year.
Orange's noncompliance was deemed "particularly serious" by ARCEP because it jeopardized end users' access to networks.
In response to the claim and fine, Orange stated that "the fine imposed by ARCEP could further reduce the amount of investments made in the deployment of fiber, to the detriment of households waiting for connection."
The issue will be referred to France's highest administrative authority, the Council of State.
