French operator Free has raised the peak download and upload speeds of its Freebox Revolution fibre service to 1 Gbps and 200 Mbps at no extra cost. The Iliad subsidiary claims that its 1 Gbps download service is the fastest offered to European consumers to date and that its point-to-point FttH technology is preferable to GPON, chosen by other fibre operators in France, because each subscriber gets a dedicated fast broadband service rather that having to share the line between homes.
In addition, Free is offering ADSL2+ and VDSL2 to eligible ADSL subscribers at no extra cost. Each subscriber receives the best speeds available, based on the characteristics of their line. Customers do not need to submit a request to the operator as the upgrades are automatic.
French telecom regulator Arcep reacted shortly after Free’s announcement, denouncing the misleading representation of the operator’s service and describing the character of its communication as "partial and sometimes incorrect".
In its statement, Arcep said it was incorrect for Free to claim that download speeds of 100 Mbps could be achieved with VDSL2, given that these are "theoretical results [and] do not correspond to services that can be effectively offered to the general public". The ISP could better provide the results of its test VDSL services launched earlier in the Dordogne and Gironde regions, the regulator said.
Arcep said Free's claim of a "dedicated" 1Gbps fibre service was also somewhat misleading, as the actual speed depended not just on the access network but also the interconnection infrastructure. While Free had invested significantly in interconnection in August and September, Arcep said its customers were still experiencing problems with online video, as noted in its earlier investigation into YouTube access at the ISP.
Arcep is currently setting up a system to test broadband quality with all the ISPs. The first results are expected in early 2014. The regulator reminded industry players that all electronic communication operators are required to ensure the transparency of the offers they propose and refrain from unfair competition.
