The timetable for the closure of the copper network that supports ADSL technology is becoming clearer. After having carried out experiments in seven pilot cities, then communicated the list of the first 162 municipalities concerned by this shutdown, Orange has made public an expanded list of this time 2,300 cities throughout France.
For the incumbent operator, which maintains this aging infrastructure, these municipalities are entering the so-called transition phase which will run from 2023 to 2026. They will switch to all fiber optics before the second so-called industrial phase. From 2026, the pace of closures will in fact accelerate sharply.
Paris XVII, Brest, Dax, Hyères…
According to the specialized site Ariase, a total of 2.85 million households will thus be affected before the rest of the French by this major project to decommission the copper network. From January 31, 2026, they will no longer be able to subscribe to an ADSL offer and will have to turn to optical fiber or an alternative technology such as a 4G/5G box or satellite internet.
Among the major cities concerned by this lot 3 published by the incumbent operator, we find the 17th arrondissement of Paris, Brest, Dax, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bourg-en-Bresse, Cagnes-sur-Mer, La Ciotat, Hyères , Mandelieu-la-Napoule or the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon. For the other municipalities, Arias refers to its interactive map dedicated to the extension of this ADSL network. Orange has also put a dynamic map online.
A statistical analysis shows that some departments are more affected than others by this early closure. At the top of the list, we find Mayenne (105 municipalities), Charente-Maritime (102), Lot (91), Haute-Garonne (82%), Sarthe (82), Nord (79) or Correze (77). The first department in Ile-de-France is Val d’Oise, with 44 municipalities.
Brittany spared
Conversely, Brittany is logically excluded from this lot 3. This region is the one where the deployment of fiber is progressing the slowest. The fiber map of France put online by Arcep, the telecoms regulatory authority, allows you to quickly realize this reality. Only eight municipalities are located in the overseas departments and territories, five of which are in Reunion.
In fact, the timetable for the closure of the ADSL network is closely linked to that of the deployment of fiber. To this end, Ariase notes that of the 2,300 municipalities in lot 3, more than half (1,205) are 100% fibred, 1,053 more than 95%, 42 municipalities between 90% and 95%. Only two municipalities have a rate of connectable households of less than 90%. In this case, Sassey in the Eure and Rochebrune in the Hautes-Alpes.
Avicca, the association of local authorities involved in digital technology, is regularly alarmed about the risks of a delay in fiber connections, which would deprive individuals and companies of high or very high speed connection in the event of a sudden cut. of ADSL.
For the UFC Que Choisir, the digital divide is coupled with a territorial divide. The consumer defense association recalled, in a recent study, that nearly a third (32.6%) of the 8.8 million inhabitants of municipalities with less than a thousand inhabitants do not have an internet connection. at very high speed.