The regulator thinks that running parallel network infrastructures doesn’t make sense for performance, efficiency, cost or environmental reasons
Arcep is against running copper and fibre networks in parallel: Following a public consultation on Orange’s plan for the switch-off of its copper network in France, Arcep has published stakeholder inputs, as well as responses to supplementary questions it posed to Orange. These questions sought further detail on aspects of the operator’s strategy, including mechanisms to reevaluate and/or adjust the plan during its execution, Orange’s approach to switch-off in high density areas and steps it would take to maintain connectivity to institutions and local authorities. In December 2019, Orange announced that it intended to retire its copper network gradually, starting in 2023 and ending by 2030. For performance, efficiency, cost or environmental reasons, Arcep does not consider it sensible to run two complete networks in the long-run and supports copper retirement as an important step towards delivering nationwide fibre access.
Orange’s plan may change once initial switch-offs are completed: France’s copper retirement plan has two parts. Firstly, a 2020-2025 experimentation phase will prepare the network for a future switch-off. The aim of this is to learn and define industry processes, organise customer migration and to limit the creation of new accesses. Orange intends to map out its plan through “thematic handbooks”, which will be amended over time according to the feedback from the first affected areas. It is also drawing up a set of municipalities where it wants to switch off its copper local loops by the end of 2024. Orange’s strategy will then enter the “operational implementation” phase – a major milestone in the country’s transition to fibre. This 2025-2030 period will accelerate network clearance, completely stop the sale of copper products, dispose of some network elements before and ultimately reach the point of technical closure.
Regulators have been keen to oversee the process: The retirement of copper is now well underway as the pace of the fibre rollout intensifies. The process varies significantly country-by-country and will take longer to complete in some markets. Arcep considers that national and local governance schemes and effective project management are crucial to Orange undertaking a successful copper switch-off. It will also monitor compliance with the conditions of the switch-off (once approved) and with obligations around transparency and data sharing. Generally, there has been considerable regulatory intervention in the retirement process to preserve competition and ensure a smooth transition. The protection of vulnerable consumers is paramount, particularly as fibre will not support some services such as personal care alarms and passenger lifts. Experience shows that addressing these issues will require operators to communicate and cooperate with stakeholders and consumers in a timely way.
Source: https://en.arcep.fr/news/press-releases/view/n/copper-network-switchoff-290722.html
