France makes strides in high-speed infrastructure

France announced public investments to promote the deployment and adoption of fiber networks.

The total investment on the part of the French government surpasses 2 billion Euros, equivalent to about $2.88 billion.

"We are at the dawn of the era of high-speed Internet and fiber-optic networks," said Prime Minister Francois Fillon, "However, 500,000 French people don’t have access to high speed Internet at all. This is not acceptable."

As in the United States, major French cities such as Paris are quickly becoming connected to high-speed networks. The challenge is extending that coverage to the more rural provinces that make up the majority of the country.

The three major French telecommunications companies - France Telecom SA, Vivendi SA's SFR, and Iliad – will be encouraged to invest together, so that no one company holds a monopoly, according to Prime Minister Fillon.

The investment in fiber represents somewhat of a risk. While 11 percent of French households have access to fiber, very few have adopted the service. However, government representatives insist that their investment will encourage fiber operators to redouble their deployment and adoption efforts to the tune of nearly 7 billion Euros.

For rural communities, Fillon says a satellite will be developed over the next four years to provide high-speed access without laying cable or fiber.

This investment is part of a national loan program in France totaling 35 billion Euros, 4.5 billion of which is earmarked for communications projects.

France Offers Loans To Boost Web Speed (Wall Street Journal)