Orange France signs FttH agreement for Auvergne

France Telecom Orange has signed the country's first national convention on fast broadband deployment with the central government, the region of Auvergne and local authorities. The agreement clarifies how the FttH rollout will be shared, offers better timeframe visibility, and establishes a tool for dialogue and information sharing to allow local authorities to accompany the deployment efficiently. The agreement specifies the size of private investments using France Telecom Orange's reserves. The operator confirmed its investment commitments for 2012-2020 to service operators in the region in October last year. Auvergne became the first 100 percent broadband county in March 2009 and drew up the public sector's fast broadband targets in July 2011. The deal with Orange covers the metro areas of the main cities of Auvergne and the two towns of Riom and Saint-Flour. A public consultation is ongoing about public initiative FttH networks in other areas of the county. The central government has set a target date of 2025 for 100 percent fast broadband penetration. Orange is committed to deploy fibre in 3,600 municipalities in 220 metro aereas by 2015, covering 10 million homes by that date and 15 million, or 60 percent of households, five years later.