Orange could step in to fill fibre gap left by SFR

Orange could consider stepping up its investment in high-speed internet access in France to fill the gap left open by SFR following its acquisition by Numericable, according to Orange France deputy CEO Pierre Louette.

Speaking on an analyst call following Orange’s latest quarterly results, Louette said that SFR had seemed to step back from commitments it had made to deploy high-speed fibre networks to 900,000 homes in less densely populated areas in the country, with the new combined company declining to deploy fibre-to-the-home in areas where Numericable already had cable networks.

He said that Orange “might consider taking over those projects” and added that SFR also seemed to be “disappointing some of the local communities” in other areas where it was not keeping up with earlier commitments.

Louette said that there was a “clear difference” in the public mind between “real fibre” and cable as well as between companies that honoured the commitments they had made and those that were “not keeping” the promises they had made.