Orange, first operator to reach 6 million fiber optic subscribers

The incumbent operator Orange confirms more than ever its position as number one in fiber in France, passing the bar of 6 million customers.

On Wednesday, Orange announced that it had reached 6 million customers on the fiber network in France. The operator is the leader of a technology that it bears largely on its shoulders, in its capacity as an infrastructure operator (SFR also occupying this role, to a lesser extent). Several million French people now choose to switch to FttH each year.

Orange connects nearly 10,000 customers every day

At a time when wired networks are increasingly in demand, the pandemic having accelerated the phenomenon, Orange made a symbolic announcement indicating that it had crossed the bar of 6 million customers in France. “ This result is the result of the total mobilization of the technical and commercial teams of Orange France and its partners in all our territories. “, reacted the boss France of the operator, Fabienne Dulac.

The latter also does not fail to recall that more than half of Orange’s Internet customer base benefits from fiber optics, whether at home or in business. More broadly, the operator had deployed, by the end of 2021, 63% of the 29 million premises eligible for FttH in the country, which represents a 20% increase in eligible premises in one year.

On the fixed Internet network, Orange can boast of connecting nearly 10,000 customers per day in France today. Optical fiber is obviously largely responsible for this statistic which makes France the country with the most fiber in Europe.

Orange accounts for almost a third of fiber subscribers

The other operators have not yet provided data for the last quarter of 2021, but it is certain that Orange surpasses all competition regarding its fiber optic customer base. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, the operator already claimed 5.6 million FttH subscribers. SFR (3.8 million), Free (3.55 million) and Bouygues Telecom (2.1 million) follow far behind.

Orange intends to maintain the pace in 2022, particularly in areas where deployment is its responsibility, whether in very dense areas or in AMII areas, these moderately dense areas which represent 3,600 municipalities. The operator was also, at the end of 2021, ahead of its target in the AMII areas, with 11 million connectable homes.