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French telcos to get €2bn to build fibre
19 January 2010
The French government is to offer telecoms operators low-interest loans in order to stimulate the growth of fibre to the home
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France
France Telecom
Orange
SFR
Vivendi
Iliad
Free
optical fibre
fibre to the home
Comment: This is a bold move that telecoms operators in France should welcome and telecoms operators in other countries should show to their own governments as an example of what should be done. Too many politicians claim to be in favour of high-speed broadband yet fail to take any effective steps to stimulate its development.
France will offer €2 billion to improve the nation’s high-speed internet networks. The French government will provide a series of low-interest loans to telecoms companies, to encourage them to develop fibre-optic networks outside major cities.
As part of the proposed project, France Telecom, Vivendi’s SFR and Iliad, which uses the Free brand, will be urged to invest together to build out local fibre-to-the-home networks. This will ensure that no single operator can monopolise an FTTH network in a particular area. Loans will be allotted on a project-by-project basis.
The French government is looking for high-speed internet connections in smaller cities and rural areas to increase productivity.
Separately, France Telecom’s Spanish unit has secured a €200 million loan from the European Investment Bank to further develop its fixed-line and cellular services in Spain. The loan is in addition to the €300 million the bank gave the telecommunications company in 2009. GTB