VINCI to Build High-Speed Fiber Infrastructure in Moselle, France

MOSELLE, FRANCE — VINCI Energies, via Axians, the leading partner and Sogea Est (a VINCI Construction France subsidiary), in a joint venture with Sogetrel has won a $138 million contract to design and build a high-speed network for Moselle Fibre, a joint association encompassing the Moselle department council and 19 municipality clusters (almost 500 municipalities, home to 300,000 people). By 2021, this high speed optical fiber network will complement the private-sector infrastructure and enable subscribers to connect to a FTTH network.

Work will begin in September 2016 and last four years. It will bring high speed connections to two-thirds of Moselle’s municipalities and involve laying almost 3,728 miles (6,000 kilometers) of optical fiber.

VINCI is thereby supporting the Moselle department’s digital development. The consortium is also planning to employ an average of 200 people for the duration of the project.

Very high speed networks play a vital role fostering local development and usher in a wide variety of amenities:

• Home care: as populations grow older, very high speed networks are providing essential vehicles to mainstream home-automation solutions using connected objects (remote surveillance, room temperature regulation, chronic disease management, etc.);


• Telemedicine, by fostering innovative public services (computer-assisted surgery, remote medical supervision and consultation, etc.);


• Education and training, with digital schoolbags, online content, MOOCs, e-learning;


• Culture and leisure, by connecting people to cultural attractions (virtual visits) and entertainment.

High-speed networks also help narrow the digital divide between urban and rural areas, and allow communities to tap into the benefits that connected cities enjoy.

Sogea Est is one of the leading players in eastern France’s underground utilities sector in general, and in the water management and treatment segments in particular. It has also built a solid reputation for its expertise in digital network deployment, with the Moselle network since 2004.

In a world undergoing constant change, VINCI Energies focuses on fast-tracking the roll-out of new technologies to support two major changes: the digital transformation and the energy transition. With its brand Axians an expert in information and communication technologies driving digital transformation in businesses and other organizations VINCI Energies works side by side with communities, bringing them the FTTH capabilities they need to take their digital development to the next level. Its teams have connected over 2 million outlets to date.