Of the 1,600 inhabitants of Lévis-Saint-Nom (Yvelines), only eight still use ADSL as an Internet network.
On March 31, Orange, in partnership with all the major telecommunications operators, will definitively cut all of these lines, leaving only optical fiber.
An unprecedented approach on the national territory.
“We chose this town because there are very few companies and it is representative of 80% of the towns in France in terms of population,” explains Laurence Thouveny, director of Orange for Ile-de-France.
It's also because Lévis-Saint-Nom is 100% fiber, it was 95% when we started the experiment in June 2020. ”Because the village is a laboratory ...
"There are elderly people who are reluctant to switch to fiber"
Between 2023 and 2030, optical fiber will gradually become the only option across the country.
While many households are already eligible (87% in Yvelines and 85% in Ile-de-France currently), users are not always informed or voluntary.
We must therefore approach them, revive them, convince them, or even end up forcing them to change networks.
A whole methodology to set up and break in before generalizing it.
The first copper overhead cables of the French ADSL network have been definitively cut.
LP / Ju.M.
“It is not always obvious, there are elderly people who are reluctant to switch to fiber, yet there are alternatives to keep a landline phone at the same price and with the same number, continues Laurence Thouveny.
It is estimated that there will perhaps be 4 or 5 people left on March 31 who will still not have switched to fiber, but we will cut the copper network in any case, we will work individually with each of them.
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A single subscriber connected to ADSL and the entire network must operate to supply it.
Hence the need to coordinate the operation with other suppliers to shut it down definitively.
The advantages are manifold.
Saving space already, since a fiber cable can power 4000 homes against 448 for a much larger copper cable.
It also uses 10 to 20 times less energy to operate and is more water resistant.
1.4 kilometers of copper cables stolen Wednesday
In addition, the fiber does not interest thieves unlike copper.
Last Wednesday, 1.4 kilometers of underground cables were stolen in Lévis-Saint-Nom under the eyes of residents who were thinking of a simple maintenance intervention.
This represents 7.7 tonnes of copper, major cuts to the network and tens of thousands of euros in repairs.
Unlike fiber cables which easily extend over 5 kilometers, copper cables have sensors every 300 meters that must be re-soldered regularly in difficult conditions depending on whether they are buried or above ground.
On the optical distributor, only the area in the hands of the operator contains all the wires necessary to supply 9,000 households.
LP / Julie Ménard
"Fortunately, here as there are only 8 people connected to it, everything was quickly repaired but theft is a real scourge", comments Marc Blanchet, technical director of Orange France networks and services.
Not to mention misplaced backhoe blows or classic malfunctions.
“We record around 5,000 interventions per day on the national copper network, or one every two seconds,” he adds.
It represents a cost of 500 million euros per year.
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For all these reasons, the mayor (SE) of the village, Anne Grignon, did not hesitate to welcome the project.
“Everything has gone very well so far, I have not had any negative feedback from the inhabitants.
Moreover, there is no particular reluctance to switch to fiber, it is more an oversight in the administrative procedures.
Watching the first copper wires floating above her head be cut and then pulled back, she rejoices.
“When we want to bury the networks, it's 1000 euros per meter, so the less the better,” concludes the city councilor.
And then each less cable is always positive for the landscape.
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