Orange reaches 6 million optical fiber customers. A figure that earned him to be the leader in France. With nearly 10,000 new customers connected every day, Orange’s FTTH base is growing faster than the competition. France now has 14.7 million very high-speed subscribers. The number of premises eligible for fiber optics is also increasing to reach 29 million sockets.
As we mentioned in our columns, 2020 was a record year for the deployment of optical fiber. The health context is pushing people towards teleworking. But this requires a good internet connection. As a result, the number of very high speed subscriptions continues to grow. As of December 31, 2020, it amounted to 14.7 million, according to ARCEP, including 10.1 million in fiber optics. That is about half of French people eligible for very high speed. The authority estimates that this figure increases by 215,000 Very High Speed accesses per quarter.
Orange is the first operator to reach 6 million fiber optic subscribers
Who benefits the most from this context? Orange. In a press release, the incumbent operator confirms having reached the 6 million customers on its French fiber network, positioning it at the top in number of subscribers. Orange also specifies that it connects nearly 10,000 customers per day throughout the territory. In addition to an aggressive policy of customer acquisition and conversion from ADSL, Orange is widening the gap with the competition thanks to faster deployment of fiber optic outlets. Thus, at the end of 2021, the operator had deployed 63% of the 29 million eligible premises to fiber optics in France, i.e. a 20% increase in eligible premises in one year. Rapid deployment, pushed by Arcep, which asked operators to speed up the pace, especially in rural areas.
Read also – Fiber optics: the government invests 150 million euros to accelerate deployment in rural areas
The competitors haven’t posted their latest data, but Orange is starting 2022 on a good footing. It ranks above the latter, especially when comparing the latest figures for 2021. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, Orange already had 5.6 million very high speed subscribers. His competitors were still a few steps further. SFR displayed 3.8 million subscribers, Free just behind with 3.55 million users. Bouygues Telecom brings up the rear, with 2.1 million customers.
