SFR boosts FTTH speeds to 300 Mbps, launches 1 Gbps trial

French service provider SFR has launched a new top-tier service that offers 300 Mbps downstream and 50 Mbps upstream. The data rates are the highest in France, SFP asserts, and will be offered at an introductory price of €9.99 per month.

SFR has fiber to the home (FTTH) available in more than 70 towns including Paris and other Ile-de-France, Bordeaux, Cherbourg, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Pau, Rennes, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. Its service is available to 1.2 million homes. More than 90% of its FTTH network will support the new data rates, SFP estimates.

The carrier will offer its existing FTTH customers “gradually” the option of upgrading to the new service starting this month. New customers can order the service upon sign up. The €9.99 monthly fee, in effect for customers who also sign up for mobile services, will be good for a year, after which the cost will rise to € 22.99. Both prices include VAT.

The 300-Mbps download speed matches Verizon’s top offering (see "Verizon boosts top FiOS FTTH speed to 300 Mbps") and lags Comcast’s by just 5 Mbps (see “Comcast counters Verizon with 305-Mbps broadband plans”). Of course, it has a ways to go before it matches the 1 Gbps rates offered by several carriers – at least for now. SFR says it will launch a 1-Gbps pilot program in Paris and is currently recruiting existing customers interested in participating. The trial will begin June 20.

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