Just two hours from Paris, Neuvy-sur-Barangeon is “a pleasant village with all amenities” at the gates of Sologne, as described on the municipal website. Surrounded by the forests of Vouzeron, Allogny and Vierzon, it has 1,106 souls, according to the latest census of 2020.
Although they enjoy the tranquility of this rural commune, the Neuvycéens nevertheless have a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Neuvy-sur-Barangeon is one of the five communes of Cher which will experience the early end of the Orange copper network. As part of lot 1, its citizens will be deprived, from 2025, of the switched telephone network (PSTN) and ADSL internet access.
If Orange assures, on the France Bleu website, that this copper network will only be withdrawn once the municipalities concerned are fully equipped with optical fiber, the countdown is on to convince residents to switch to very high speed. “I was warned a year ago but time has passed very quickly since then”notes Marie-Pierre Cassard, mayor of Neuvy-sur-Barangeon.
Convince the grandmother who only has her TV
As soon as informed, the town hall announced the news to citizens through the AppCom mobile application and municipal bulletins. “ Some residents thought it was a joke, that the town hall was exaggeratingcontinues the elected official. Dhe inhabitants are familiar with digital technology, others much less so. A grandmother who doesn’t have a computer, only a television, doesn’t understand the point of changing when everything works. »
The mayor is also faced with “fiber bashing”. Going from the T socket to the box is not easy for some people who are far from digital. Word of mouth can strengthen ADSL diehards in their position. All it takes is for a resident to see the image of their TV freeze in their fiber-connected neighbor’s home to talk about it to those around them. And it is difficult to bring in competition, “ in our countryside, it’s Orange », observes the councilor.
Furthermore, there is the question of possible financial costs borne by the subscriber to carry the fiber to their home, such as digging a trench on their land, breaking a slab in their garage or unblocking a conduit.
The town hall must also carry out a household census. Several houses can be located on the same road and can share a common address. You must then associate a number with them to differentiate them. Finally, new residents should be informed individually. “ We must constantly remember that the movement is irreversible. We have no room for error », Estimates Marie-Pierre Cassard.
From left to right: Laurent Roussat, director of Berry Fiber Optique, Marie-Pierre Cassard mayor of Neuvy-sur-Barangeon, Patrick Barnier, president of Berry Numérique
100% connectable premises is not 100% connected
Neuvy-sur-Barangeon is, however, not the worst-off municipality. The neighboring village of Nancay, also affected by lot 1, will not be able to count on its mobile network coverage. Located in a white zone, it hosts a radio astronomy station which would not be disturbed by radio frequency waves.
President of the Berry Numérique joint union, Patrick Barnier wants to be reassuring. “ Cher is a department rather ahead in the deployment of fiber. We will have a coverage rate of 100% in 2025. However, we must go from 100% connectable premises to 100% connected, which represents a challenge. »
Faced with the disbelief of certain residents, it is believed that the State must carry out a vast information campaign as it did during the switch to DTT. “ Until it’s on TV, people won’t believe it. not “. He also calls for state aid to finance civil engineering work borne by households in the case of complex connections. An avenue mentioned by Jean-Noël Barrot, minister in charge of digital transition.
As for the delegatee, Berry Fiber Optique (Axione group), we deplore the fact that Orange is dragging its feet in communicating the RTC lines that are still active in order to migrate them as a priority. Its director, Laurent Roussat, intends, for his part, to suspend the Stoc mode for “subcontracting to the commercial operator”
This Stoc mode allows SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free or Orange to go through a cascade of subcontracting to ensure connections with a quality of service which is not always there. ” HAS from January 1, 2024, the subscriber will go through us, the infrastructure operator, to make the connection. »