During ARCEP’s wishes for 2023, the Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecoms dropped a bombshell. In his speech, Jean-Noël Barrot announced the government’s intention to establish “a right to very high speed” for every French person. According to the operators, this “universal service” is already provided by their networks.
On the evening of December 14, 2022, ARCEP presented its wishes to players in the telecoms sector for 2023. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecoms, had naturally made the trip to listen to the speech of the President of ARCEP and to express themselves.
Facing the leaders of Orange and SFR-Altice, Christel Heydemann and Patrick Drahi, the minister dropped a real little bomb : “The State now wishes to create a right to very high speed broadband for all at an affordable price”. He adds that this measure will allow “to make France the first European digital power”.
A right to very high speed announced by the government
According to him, this right must guarantee at least 30 Mbit/s, regardless of the type of connection (fiber optic, ADSL, satellite, landline 4G, etc.). This minimum level of service would be essential so that “all citizens have access to very high-speed Internet service and voice communication services at an affordable rate”.
In fact, this universal service already exists, since Fiber now covers nearly 70% of French territory. However, the very notion of universal Internet service does not exist in the eyes of the law. Regarding telephony, Orange was supposed to bring fixed telephony to all French people, but this has not been the case since the end of 2020.
In other words, and faced with this legal void, the idea is to establish a new universal service, now including very high-speed Internet. According to Jean-Noël Barrot, a first decree will be submitted to ARCEP by the end of the first half of 2023.
A measure still mysterious
Nevertheless, many gray areas still persist, starting with the financing of this measure, or the actors concerned. We imagine thatOrange, SFR, Bouygues and Free will be at the center of the maneuver. The schedule is also mysterious.
One thing is certain, this overhaul by Jean-Noël Barrot comes as Orange must end its copper network… Only, there is a risk that some French people will find themselves without internet, especially in areas not yet fibered. . Operators have already expressed their concerns on the subject in August 2022. By introducing this right to very high speed, the government therefore ensured the protection of subscribers.
Source : The echoes
