A gift from the State to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the very high speed project. In an interview given to La Tribune du Dimanche, the Minister for Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced that the 7 million French people still not eligible for optical fiber would be able to benefit from assistance to access very high speed . While more than 86% of the territory is now connected to fiber, certain areas are not yet covered by operators.
In these territories, access to the internet can be done through the use of so-called fixed 4G or even satellite internet. The State has therefore decided to provide installation assistance for households still without fiber, replicating a system used for residents of rural areas. This aid constitutes a discount on the purchase of equipment (the satellite dish for example) at the time of subscription, which reaches 300 euros, or even 600 euros for the most modest households. In rural areas, nearly 142,000 French people have already benefited from it, the minister explains to the daily.
The expansion of the measure is estimated at 20 million euros by the executive. “This is one more step towards the right to very high speed for all,” insists the minister, who is nevertheless pleased to see France have more than 20 million fiber subscribers. “Thanks to the deployment of fiber and other technologies, very high-speed internet is now eligible for 100% of French people. The objective set ten years ago was therefore achieved, without slippage in budget or timetable. »
A few weeks ago, the State obtained new commitments from Orange for fiber optic coverage of moderately dense areas, with the aim of generalizing fiber by 2025. The operator has committed to deploying 1.5 million more homes by 2025. The State has also committed to continuing to put pressure on operators to ensure the quality of the networks. “If we do not move quickly enough, we will include this quality imperative in the law,” insisted Jean-Noël Barrot.
