Almost everywhere in France, homes find themselves deprived of telephone and ADSL. Blame it on the scourge of cable theft, which is causing despair among the population and the historic operator Orange.
Unfortunately, the theft of Orange copper cables is becoming worrying. Increasingly frequent, they deprive residents of several regions of connection. In affected areas, the consequences range from homes without telephones and ADSL for months to impacts on municipal services. Between 2022 and 2023, thefts of copper cables have doubled, indicates Orange. The trend is not expected to reverse this year.
When one cable theft chases another, it quickly becomes chaos on the networks
Around Compiègne, in the Oise, copper cable thefts are depriving residents of Internet and telephone access. Repairs, which sometimes take weeks or even months, increasingly expose the vulnerability of ADSL connections. On site, the mayors of the municipalities of Lachelle and Longueil-Sainte-Marie once again expressed their concern, faced with the lack of a clear response to restore the cut services.
In Lachelle, the damage caused by a first malicious act had just been repaired when a second intervened, cutting the fixed connections of around sixty households. The never-ending story of networks.
The deprivation of ADSL connection affects many homes, some of which house elderly people who are dependent on alarms, among other things, to alert emergency services in the event of need or serious problem. So obviously, when cable thefts increase, the concern is even greater.
Orange notes with disappointment the increase in malicious acts
If residents and local elected officials express their disappointment, Orange is not left out. According to the historic operator, cable thefts doubled between 2022 and 2023. More than 600 incidents of this type have, for example, been reported in the Hauts-de-France region, including 200 in Picardy alone.
These malicious acts increase the workload of the operator’s teams, ” considerable » according to him, who mentions in passing a financial loss of the order of 23 million euros for 2023. Hence the interest in switching, as quickly as possible, to optical fiber, which will in all cases offer a better network quality and minimize risks.
Orange nevertheless does not escape criticism, sometimes raised by high French assemblies, which accuse the company of neglecting repairs on copper, to encourage the transition to fiber, which it obviously refutes. On the Orange side, we emphasize the complexity of the repairs, due to the continued risk of theft. Prioritization is now required, particularly in places where there are fire stations, hospitals or prefectures.
Source : Picard mail
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