France Telecom-Orange says it has signed an agreement with fellow French service provider SFR to spur deployment of fiber to the home (FTTH) outside of very densely populated areas of France.

The agreement covers 9.8 million homes where both companies planned to deploy FTTH. SFR will serve 2.3 million of these residences and France Telecom-Orange will serve the remaining 7.5 million, the two carriers agreed.

The two carriers also say the agreement designates the operator responsible for deployment in each community under an optimized deployment schedule and network coverage.

France Telecom-Orange and SFR also will maintain a commercial presence in the areas covered by the agreement. Each will purchase wholesale services from the group that will ultimately deploy the local network. Other service providers also will be provided access to the infrastructure deployed by either operator, including through co-financing projects.

The two carriers have agreed to complete their respective deployments within five years, once the projects begin.