Is it an outstretched hand to Orange? Engaged in a legal tussle with the incumbent operator over its alleged shortcomings in the deployment of fiber, Arcep made a move on another contentious issue between them: the unbundling tariff. Namely, the price paid by the other three operators – SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free – to access the Orange copper network.
The French number one in telecom considers the current unbundling rate – 9.65 euros per line – too low in view of the cost of maintaining this aging network which supports ADSL technology. During his hearing by the Senate at the end of November, Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, estimated the annual cost of this maintenance at 500 million euros.
The cost of maintaining this aging copper network would even have increased by 37% between 2018 and 2021 while, at the same time, the income linked to its rental is mechanically falling as the number of subscribers to DSL. These are already less numerous than fiber subscribers according to the latest digital barometer. According to Christel Heydemann, the calculation of the unbundling tariff, based on a modeling of the theoretical fiber optic network, would also lead to an undervaluation of the tariff of 1.44 euro per month.
A “not excessive price”
With the scheduled exit from the copper network – the end of commercial ADSL offers is scheduled for January 31, 2026, and the final shutdown of the network in 2030 – Arcep intends to set a new tariff framework during the transitional period, i.e. from 2024 to 2028. The switch from ADSL to fiber substantially altering the competitive landscape, the telecoms policeman “plans to reduce the tariff obligations weighing on Orange”.
“In areas where fiber has been deployed for a sufficiently long time, and the copper network is commercially closed”, the authority plans to lift the tariff obligation for the corresponding accesses, “after a period of 6 to 12 months from the commercial closure of the area”. Orange will no longer be subject to the price cap and will be able to charge a “non-excessive price” to competing operators who use its network.
Orange will be required to provide advance notice, the period of which will take into account the magnitude of the planned price increase. “For example, in the current context, particularly inflation, if Orange is considering a price increase leading to a cumulative effect over the last 12 months of more than 10% on the price charged in the non-excessive zone, it appears proportionate that he respects a notice period of one year and not three months. »
carrot and stick
Using carrots and sticks, Arcep intends at the same time to ensure the quality of service on the copper network to the end, “especially for areas that do not benefit from fiber optics” and for which only ADSL offers remain available. To this end, the authority intends to maintain the indicators already in place and the quality of service thresholds to be respected.
This regulatory development project for the 2024-2028 cycle is subject to public consultation until April 3. Based on the contributions received, “the draft fixed market analysis decisions will be revised and submitted for a second public consultation by the end of the first half of 2023”. They will then be notified to the European Commission for adoption by Arcep by the end of the year.