Spending the winter without gas and electricity cuts, such is the stated objective of the government in recent weeks and symbolized by the announcement in detail of the energy sobriety plan.
Latest measure, announced this Monday morning: telecom operators will generalize their subscribers' box standby systems when they are not in use.
The announcement was made by the minister in charge of digital, Jean-Noël Barrot, freshly winner of his partial legislative election in the Yvelines.
“There are boxes, decoders, which automatically go into standby, but all of this is not entirely uniform”, explained the Minister in charge of digital on Europe 1. “The commitments made by the sector, it is either for the existing boxes already installed to make an update which allows this standby in a slightly more systematic way, or, for the new boxes which will be distributed (…) that this standby is installed by default”, he indicated.
Some speakers on social networks interpreted Jean-Noël Barrot's remarks as the announcement of systems allowing operators to cut off their subscribers' Internet access to save electricity.
An interpretation challenged by the minister's office.
Cut off of his internet box remotely by his operator: "that's the goal" said @jnbarrot, Minister of Digital Transition on #Europe1 pic.twitter.com/xLKTVNcXka
- Europe 1 🎧🌍📻 (@Europe1) October 10, 2022
A standby generated by default
"It's not about shutting down the internet at night," the ministry said.
"We encourage the generalization, for operators or equipment manufacturers, of the hibernation parameter for boxes".
"It's about having a standby, generated by default, either after a certain period of inactivity, or when the box no longer detects any device connected to wi-fi", he said. -on indicated from the same source.
“This setting also allows the box to reactivate as soon as it again detects a device connected to it.
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The government presented last week a “chosen” sobriety plan drawn up with the main sectors of the economy and daily life to get through the winter without cuts, but also to prepare the French for the much larger savings demanded by the climate emergency.