Orange attacks the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (ARCEP) before the Council of State.
The telecoms giant wants to be able to launch a priority question of constitutionality (QPR) against the regulator. The two parties have been in conflict since March 17, 2022 and a formal notice issued by ARCEP.
Orange fights back
A year of conflict, which goes back to the top of the judicial chain. Orange definitely does not accept this formal notice from ARCEP, which accused it of not having respected the signed contract relating to the deployment of optical fiber in 3,000 medium-sized French municipalities.
The CEO of Orange, Christel Heydemann, had already brought criticism to the Senate against the regulatory authority last November, citing its very important role in the deployment of fiber optics. She had thus recalled that if France was the country most connected to fiber in Europe, with 80% of households able to access it, it was largely due to Orange. ” 60% of sockets deployed were deployed by our teams and our partners “, she explained.
By seeking to go before the Constitutional Council, the telecommunications group wants to have a ” disproportionate interference with freedom of enterprise from ARCEP.
An existential challenge for ARCEP?
If this legal action already has enough to alert the head of ARCEP, Laure de la Raudière, who says to herself ” shocked “, it could have even more important consequences than this simple affair. Indeed, the complaint also asks the Council to give its opinion on the ” combination, within the same independent administrative authority and by the same persons, of advisory powers and a quasi-jurisdictional power of sanction “. In short, for Orange, ARCEP may have too many powers, in particular because of the sanctions it can impose.
In comments reported by The world, Laure de la Raudière disputes this interpretation. ” Without the powers of sanction, the deployments, the quality of service, it will be at their whim, when they see fit “, she replied.
Sources: The world, ZDNet
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