Orange illustration.

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SYSPEO / SIPA

The elect are stepping up to the plate.

The telephone operators, foremost among which Orange, must allow access to the "universal" fixed telephony service, claim more than 200 rural elected representatives, denouncing that "basic services such as simple access to a fixed line (are) not guaranteed ”.

“The law provides that access to fixed telephony must be provided to every citizen.

In 2017, the State signed a three-year agreement with the operator Orange to ensure its effectiveness (...) The reality behind these indicators is quite different: rural areas, representing "few lines", are neglected, abandoned », Write the signatories of this forum published in the

Journal du Dimanche

.

Weeks for a repair

These elected officials, including the LREM deputy of Drôme Célia de Lavergne, criticize the lack of maintenance of the network, the fact "that the opening of a line takes more than six months and the repair of weeks" while the operator is "supposed to intervene within 48 hours".

"While we, elected officials, we fight for the dynamism and attractiveness of our campaigns, we note that basic services such as simple access to a landline are not guaranteed", they write.

“If these copper lines are to be replaced by fiber, we will not be able to do without them for at least another ten years.

Until then, we are cruelly dependent on it, ”add these rural elected representatives.

In its 2025 strategic plan, the Orange group indeed foresees that the “copper” network for fixed telephony will be completely replaced by a fiber optic network in 2030.

Orange already put on formal notice

An agreement signed between the State and Orange in 2017 and which has expired must give way to a new one "which provides for access to broadband Internet in addition to fixed telephony".

But for that, it will take "an unprecedented and immediate effort by the operator", as well as "a vigilant, reinforced and territorialized control of the public authorities", according to the signatories.

The future convention should therefore provide for more precise verification than at present, "its monitoring indicators should be sub-departmental and reflect the reality of the rural world", they recommend.

All revenues from fixed services amounted to 4.1 billion euros excluding taxes in the first quarter, a stable turnover after ten years of decline, according to Arcep, the telecoms regulatory authority.

Orange has received formal notice from Arcep on several occasions since October 2018, in particular for failing to meet its universal service obligations on landlines.

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  • Telephony

  • Telecom operators

  • Orange