French telecommunications regulator Arcep has opened a consultation until 13 July on a draft decision for nationwide FTTH rollouts. The authority defined the regulatory framework for deploying optical fibre in very densely populated areas in France (148 municipalities) in a first decision which entered into force in January. In very densely populated parts of the country, the reference interconnection offer of the rollouts and framework allow each operator to have its own dedicated network end to end. The new draft decision completes the regulatory framework for the rest of the country, in other words in less densely populated areas which correspond to around 80 percent of the population. The great diversity of these areas calls for a flexible framework that includes a high degree of sharing and more joint action with local authorities to guarantee homogeneous coverage across the country. Arcep wants to increase infrastructure sharing by planning for shared access points grouping around 1,000 lines, with a minimum threshold of 300 lines. This will help reduce the cost of fibre rollouts to the premises, while maintaining lasting competition and consumers' ability to choose their service provider freely. Operators would share the last mile of a single-fibre network. To ensure homogenous regional coverage, the public or private operator deploying a network from a shared access point must define, in consultation with other operators and local authorities, the area concerned by the rollout by meshing it with a broader geographical area and to cover the whole area within a reasonable timeframe. The draft decision provides for more joint action between operators and local authorities prior to rollouts. Over time, the rollouts would be incorporated into regional digital development plans as they are drafted by local authorities. Arcep hopes that the government's launch of its national ultra-fast broadband programme in the coming days will help provide operators and local authorities with the means, notably financial, to initiate large-scale FTTH rollouts across the whole of France.
