DECEMBER 15, 2006 -- France Telecom (search for France Telecom) has announced the second phase of its FTTH plan, with the early stage deployment of very high speed broadband in France. The early stage deployment phase will run from 2007 to 2008, with the aim of having 150,000 to 200,000 customers connected by the end of 2008 out of a potential client base of 1 million.
Didier Lombard, the Group's chairman and CEO, explains, "After an initial pilot phase in 2006, the group is stepping up a gear, increasing the range of very high speed broadband services available with Orange as well as expanding the regional coverage of its network for the future. This new phase will pave the way for the broader deployment of fiber to the home which we foresee in 2009 and beyond, when there will be content and services available which would justify such capacity for many of our customers".
Orange is the Group's single brand for the Internet, television and mobile telephony in France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain.
With 100,000 km of fiber installed, agreements signed with 650 tenant associations, 11,500 homes that can now be connected, 500 customers to date -- equivalent to an almost 5% penetration rate on connectable homes -- and what France Telecom considers "a top-of-the-range offer," the launch of FTTH compares favorably with the successful introduction of ADSL in 1999, according to the carrier. As anticipated, the pilot phase allowed Orange to better define a practical approach for the optimal deployment of the fiber network.
To reduce installation times and simplify these processes, Orange is working with all those concerned to draw up a "quality charter" for the installation of fiber cables in buildings. This charter provides for the possibility for fiber cables that are installed in buildings by the France Telecom Group to be used by other operators. The GPON technology chosen by the Group facilitates the sharing of the fiber connections at the base of the building. In addition, this GPON architecture allows for lower fiber installation and civil engineering costs, France Telecom says.
The range of services available from 2007 onwards will include Internet access with symmetrical speeds of up to 100 Mbits/sec, several high-definition TV and PC channels, and unlimited calls. France Telecom says they will be launched in March 2007 in Paris and several neighboring regions, before being rolled out from June 2007 to a dozen large and medium-sized cities, with the first to include Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Poitiers, and Toulouse. This phase will enable Orange to further improve its customer experience outside of the Paris region.
Orange aims to have 150,000 to 200,000 customers connected out of a total addressable client base of more than 1 million by the end of 2008. The total investment over the two years is estimated at 270 million euros, in line with the Group's New Experience in Telecommunications (NExT) strategy in terms of the ratio of capex to consolidated revenues.
The development of a very high speed broadband for the mass market is going to require certain adaptations by equipment suppliers, operators, and content and service providers, according to France Telecom. The group believes it will take at least two years before this adaptation process is complete, thereby permitting very high speed broadband to become available to the mass market. Within a regulatory environment that is well on the way to being clarified, Orange is expected to be able to offer its customers a range of very high speed broadband services, creating value for the Group.
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