While individuals have mostly adopted fiber optics – 79% of homes can be connected – companies are dragging their feet. According to the latest InfraNum-Covage barometer carried out by Ifop, just over two out of three companies (63%) benefit from this very high-speed technology. This indicates a slowdown in deployment. The number of companies with fiber increased by only 15% in one year compared to increases of 63% and 49% in 2021 and 2022.
With this low connection rate, France ranks only twelfth among European countries in terms of digital maturity of companies according to the DESI index (Digital economy and society index). This average hides, moreover, strong disparities in terms of geographical location and company size.
If we note a catch-up effect of companies located in rural areas compared to their counterparts in urban municipalities, the gap remains significant with a rate of fiber companies of 44% against 79% in the Paris region. The coverage gap between VSEs and large accounts amounts to 25%. ” Some big companies haven’t made the switch yet worries Aymeric de Cardes, CEO of Covage.
41% irreducible companies
Even more worrying is the mindset of non-fiber companies. 59% of them plan to connect and even as soon as possible. 69% of the companies concerned envisage this project in less than a year. Which means, Converselythat there are still 41% of unconnected companies that do not plan to migrate to fibre.
Among the obstacles mentioned, they primarily cite the cost of fiber offers (58%), a criterion up 25 points in one year. Fiber optics also suffers from a bad image with a deterioration in the quality of service in recent months (defects, malfunctions) highlighted by a growing number of local authorities.
Discontinuation of ADSL: more than 40,000 companies affected by 2024
The lack of information on eligibility for fiber (33%) or the lack of trust in operators (24%) are other barriers mentioned. Be that as it may, this base of irreducible companies, stable compared to 2022, poses a challenge for operators in the context of the scheduled shutdown of the copper network which supports ADSL.
The first 162 municipalities concerned from 2024 by this extinction are home to more than 40,000 companies. Will they be ready? Not sure. Only 52% of companies surveyed by Ifop say they are well informed about the copper shutdown.
Operators to also be more attractive to encourage them to migrate to fiber. When companies are asked about their selection criteria, the tariff offer only comes in seventh position, far behind the reliability of the service, the speed of repair and the flow. In fact, 85% of companies choose dedicated fiber offers and 68% subscribe to an offer with a guaranteed recovery time. This was only the case for 56% of them in 2022.
This concern for quality of service is justified with regard to digital practices. The exchange of large files and the use of videoconferencing are the two most frequently cited use cases.
Finally, a new criterion appears in this 2023 edition of the barometer: responsible digital: 67% of companies take environmental criteria into account in their digital choices. This involves recycling work, reducing the consumption of equipment or using telework.
