The agglomeration of Brive, in Corrèze, claims to Arcep and the government the breach of the contract binding it with Orange. The reason ? Delays in the deployment of optical fiber on its territory, which includes the sub-prefecture of Corrèze and the 47 surrounding municipalities.
The community, which has 80,000 inhabitants, is also demanding financial sanctions against the operator.
“Orange has been treading water for 10 years. We are asking the State to declare the operator defaulting, ”tells AFP the president of the agglo and mayor of Brive Frédéric Soulier (LR).
A broken promise according to the Brivist elected official
This would allow the elected representative to free himself from the contractual obligation vis-à-vis the incumbent operator. Orange announced in 2010 that it was committed to installing fiber “by 2020” in all of the 14 municipalities assigned to it. Two years after the end of the deadline, 12% of the population of this territory still does not have access to fiber, regrets Frédéric Soulier.
According to the mayor of Brive, Dorsal, a local mixed union specializing in digital technology, has made it possible to fully equip the 34 remaining municipalities in the area, mainly rural, “in less than two years”.
The agglomeration also asks the government to apply up to 25 million euros in penalties against Orange for “non-compliance with commitments”. An amount which must be used “to pay Dorsal for the finalization of the network”.
The French authorities have set their sights on a country with full fiber by 2025. According to Arcep data, in September, 32 million premises were eligible for FttH (“Fiber to the Home” or “fiber optics to the home”) in France.