DECEMBER 13, 2010 -- French carriers Bouygues Telecom and SFR have signed a co-investment agreement for deployment of fiber to the home (FTTH) infrastructure in certain cities.

Both carriers use GPON technology, a factor that helps make the collaboration possible.

The agreement calls for the two carriers to pool their investments in fiber-optic horizontal networks that are deployed between their points of presence and buildings. The agreement will allow both operators to accelerate and expand the deployment of FTTH, they say.

SFR already has deployed FTTH services in several communities, and plans to expand that offering in 2011. Bouygues Telecom plans to begin its own FTTH-based offerings in the second half of 2011.

ARCEP, the French telecommunications authority, announced its approval of the deal.

"This agreement is the expression of a new entrant's (Bouygues Telecom) proactive approach and capacity to invest in a lasting fashion in ultra-fast broadband fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure, and so confirming the relevance of the regulatory choices introduced by ARCEP in the decision it adopted late last year," read a statement posted on ARCEP's website.

"In the coming days, ARCEP will be adopting a corollary decision whose purpose is to define the main rules governing ultra-fast broadband FTTH rollouts in the entire country, outside of high-density areas. This will provide the French market with a complete regulatory framework for ultra high-speed optical fibre deployments that will allow stakeholders to extend their investments to the whole of France," the statement concluded.