The broadband and ultra-broadband market observatory for the first quarter has just been published by Arcep. The regulator notes that "the number of very high-speed subscriptions rose by 1.1 million, i.e. a growth rate of 170% compared to the first quarter of 2020".

This means that "the number of very high-speed subscriptions has reached 15.7 million, and now represents more than half (51%) of the total number of Internet subscriptions in France (+9 points in one year) and 53% of the number of premises eligible for very high-speed access, up 6 points in one year".

The figures for fibre rollouts are also upbeat: "Public Initiative Networks have achieved their best deployment quarter ever and are outpacing private operator rollouts in AMII zones. The overall pace of deployment remains high in the first quarter of 2021, with 1.5 million FTTH lines".

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Source : Next Inpact

In a press release, af2m (French Association for the Development of Multi-operator Multimedia Services and Uses) "welcomes Iliad's membership, which joins Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR among its operator members".

The association has been working to "develop and promote multi-operator B2B2C services while respecting and protecting the end user" for more than 15 years. Among the subjects of concern: segmented advertising, payment solutions on operator invoices, SMS marketing, etc.

For af2m "This membership is an opportunity for all digital players who will be able to offer their professional customers (companies, online service providers, local authorities, associations, etc.) services that are now accessible to all French mobile and Internet users".

This will certainly prepare the launch of the operator's B2B offer: Free Pro. A launch that has been imminent for months... but is finally becoming clearer. As a reminder, Free's parent company is still not a member of the French Telecom Federation.

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Source : Next Inpact

Altice, via its SFR FTTH branch, entered into exclusive negotiations a year ago to acquire 100% of the wholesale operator Covage.

The Association of Alternative Telecom Operators was quick to express its concern, because this merger was not "without raising profound questions about the preservation of an already fragile competitive intensity in the business and local authority market".

The European Commission "has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Covage by SFR FTTH, a company jointly controlled by Altice, Allianz and Omers. The clearance is subject to full compliance with a series of commitments offered".

Two commitments are made by SFR FTTH:

• "The sale to a suitable purchaser of 25 subsidiaries and assets corresponding to Covage's "optical local loop"" business in the territory of 30 public institutions. These subsidiaries and assets consist of FttO networks and represent in total approximately 95% of Covage's FttO business.
• "The offer of a transitional service contract, including access to all assets and services required to operate the divested business under competitive conditions for a period of time allowing SFR FTTH to become fully independent".

In conclusion, the Commission states that "the final commitments address the competition concerns identified by the Commission with respect to the acquisition of Covage by SFR FTTH and have been substantially improved following comments provided by market participants. The Commission has therefore concluded that the proposed transaction, as modified by the commitments, no longer raises competition concerns".

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Source : Next Inpact

Arcep takes stock of the 4G mobile coverage of the metropolis. The Telecom gendarme estimates that the territory is today 96% covered by at least one operator and 76% covered by all operators.

Within the framework of the New Mobile Deal, "2,066 zones have been identified by the local authorities. ...] To date, 462 new sites are providing voice and SMS services with "good coverage" thanks to 3G and very high-speed mobile broadband (4G) in areas that have been identified and prioritized by the local authorities," the regulatory authority points out.

Operators' commitments/obligations are also verified by Arcep. Identified by an order dated July 4, 2018, 445 sites were to be implemented by October 9, 2020. Assessment: "403 of the 445 sites have been commissioned, i.e. nearly 91%. ...] The causes of the delays in bringing the other sites into service are currently being analyzed" by the regulator's services.

"Arcep welcomes the good progress of the Mobile New Deal, thanks to the mobilization of operators, local players and public authorities. The Authority will ensure that the operators fully respect all the commitments they have made," concludes Sébastien Soriano.

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Source : NextInpact

In early June, AOTA, the Association of Alternative Telecommunications Operators, called on the government to "address the transition to IPv6 and the preservation of the competitive balance".

The Directorate General for Enterprise (DGE) has just replied: "the transition to this new communication protocol now appears to be a major challenge for competitiveness and innovation". However, it states that "the government's capacity to act in this area is limited by the lack of a legislative basis to regulate this type of resource, as IP addresses are managed at the international level by ICANN and allocated directly at the European level by the European Internet registry, the Amsterdam-based RIPE NCC".

To find a solution, "the French authorities will propose to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union that it put the issue of the transition to IPv6 on the agenda of a working group of the Telecommunications and Information Society Council and that it refer the matter to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for its opinion".

Despite a "timid response", the AOTA welcomes the fact that the State is taking the issue seriously. The Chief Electoral Officer also points out that the Arcep can play a supporting role in facilitating the transition to IPv6, and that a "task force" will soon be set up by the Arcep on this subject".

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Source : Next Inpact