France Telecom and Free to Co-Finance Rural FTTH

PARIS - Two French telecom providers - Free, an alternative provider that is a subsidiary of Iliad, and France Telecom-Orange, the incumbent - have signed an agreement to jointly finance FTTH networks in less densely populated areas of France. The agreement covers about 60 areas with a total of 5 million homes.

The joint financing scheme allows Free to invest only as much as it needs to serve its own subscribers - a less expensive arrangement than in the densely populated areas, where the operators are all rolling out redundant networks. France Telecom-Orange has made a commitment to enter into a similar agreement with any other operator.

This agreement makes it possible for operators to deliver FTTH to less-populated areas at a reasonable cost. Pooling resources to build a shared network allows the operators to serve a wider population and still maintain retail competition.