French Fixed Broadband Subs Up 10% During 2009, Sees Significant Fibre Growth

Broadband subscribers were up 10.5% year-on-year (y/y) in 2009, reaching 19.69 million high-speed and ultra-high-speed connections at the end of December, according to the latest statistics from the telecoms regulator. Regulator Arcep has released figures that show some 94% of these connections were via ADSL, where subscriber numbers rose to 10.1% y/y to reach 18.5 million at the end of 2009. Meanwhile, of the 290,000 ultra-high-speed subscribers, 70,000 were on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), up 62.8% y/y, while 220,000 used fibre-to-the-last-amplifier (FTTLA) with coaxial cable for the terminal part, an increase of 80.3% y/y.

FTTH customers showed significant growth in the fourth quarter, rising by 11,000 and up 13.7% on the previous quarter, as more than 4.5 million homes were passed by a fibre-optic network by the end of 2009. FTTLA customers increased by 7,000 in the fourth quarter, while the number of ADSL customers rose by 470,000. Other high-speed (cable) customers rose by 36,000.

French cable operator Numericable claimed a 27% share of new internet subscribers in the fourth quarter based on the figures, adding 56,000 new customers in the quarter. Numericable and its partners are also claiming some 76% of the country's total very high-speed customers, as its subscriptions stood at 220,000 at the end of 2009.

Outlook and Implications

• A Success for Wholesale Broadband and Competition: The figures also reveal that France's alternative operators were using 9.7 million wholesale lines leased from France Telecom at the end of 2009, up 12.8% y/y. These included 6.41 million fully unbundled lines, which had jumped 30% y/y, while partially unbundled, ATM and regional IP bitstream, and national IP line use had all declined. Numericable in particular attributed its success to the popularity of its dual- and triple-play packages, as a price war breaks out in France's fixed-line sector, with rivals Bouygues and Iliad recently announcing plans to cut their own broadband and bundled tariffs (see France: 7 December 2009: Bouygues Set to Cut Prices as French Price War Heats Up—Report). Indeed, Arcep's figures show the number of Internet users who have stopped paying a fixed phone subscription to incumbent France Telecom and switched to bundled services reached 6.41 million at the end of December, up from 6.00 million at the end of September 2009.
• French Fibre Finally Getting Off the Ground: Arcep's figures show that 290,000 households were subscribing to very high-speed broadband internet through FTTH at the end of the year, an increase of 13.7% growth over the three months from the end of September 2009. The number of buildings equipped with FTTH and connected to the network of at least one operator stood at 40,000 at the end of December, a jump of 11% on the previous quarter, as fibre roll-out finally gathers pace following years of delays and false starts (see France: 29 September 2009: France Sees Disappointing Take-Up of FTTH as Only 50,000 Customers Connect). The French government has announced significant investment in the country's fibre infrastructure (see France: 11 February 2010: France Telecom Announces US$2.8-bil. Fibre Investment by 2015) to boost roll-out, and the operators are finally working together to connect the country, with the alternative operators renting around 560 kilometres of France Telecom ducts to deploy fibre networks in around 20 municipalities around Paris and Lyon, Marseille, and Grenoble.
• Full Speed Ahead for Broadband in France: The growth of fibre and wholesale is largely down to a truce between the alternates and incumbent France Telecom, as the operators look to end the in-fighting and bickering that has held back the development of broadband in the country for years. France Telecom recently appointed Stephane Richard as its new CEO, as it looks to put 2009 behind it, when a slump in its fortunes due to the global economic slowdown was exacerbated by a damaging spate of staff suicides at home (see France: 9 March 2010: France Telecom Signs Union Deals Aimed at Improving Working Conditions). Elsewhere, Arcep has brokered a deal with France's mobile operators, which will see them share their 3G mobile networks to boost coverage across the country (see France: 25 February 2010: French Mobile Operators Sign 3G Network-Sharing Deal). The deal lays out the principles of how to share their 3G infrastructure, with an aim to enabling full nationwide coverage by the end of 2013, as the mobile operators face the imminent entry of new player Iliad following the award of the country's fourth 3G licence in December (see France: 22 December 2009: Iliad CFO Says Company Can Break Even at 2–3% of Mobile Market).