what you need to know about the expansion of aid for households not eligible for fiber

The Minister Delegate in charge of Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced the expansion of aid intended for households not connected to fiber. It should concern 7 million households.

“One more step towards the right to very high speed for all.” The Minister Delegate in charge of Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced on Sunday December 17 the expansion of aid to access very high speed to households not eligible for fiber, in an interview with La Tribune Sunday. There measure should concern nearly seven million households, according to the minister, who sees it as an action “strong in the service of regional planning”. Franceinfo details what will change.

What aid already exists?

Several aid measures have been put in place by the government for households in rural areas, which are not yet eligible for fiber. This aid, amounting to 150 euros in overseas territories and 300 euros in mainland France, can reach up to 600 euros for low-income households, particularly RSA beneficiaries. According to’National agency for territorial cohesion, it is intended to finance “a high-performance Internet access solution” to residents not connected to fiber. Several devices are concerned, such as satellite internet via the installation of a satellite dish, the use of a 4G box or a local radio loop.

Individuals and businesses eligible for the scheme benefit “financial support from the State for the cost of equipment, installation or commissioning of the chosen wireless solution”specifies the government agency. According to Jean-Noël Barrot, “142,000 homes”located in rural areas, have already received this aid.

What will change?

Aid will no longer only be reserved for households living in rural areas, but will be open “to the entire national territory, and to the seven million households who are not yet eligible for fiber”, specified the minister. The measure “will be effective at the beginning of next year” and the State will mobilize an additional 20 million euros to finance it, according to Jean-Noël Barrot. The list of operators affected by this aid is available on the website of the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion. Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite solution, is not affected by this aid, the minister’s office confirmed, according to a message from journalist Raphaël Grably of BFM TV posted on X.

Where is France in fiber deployment?

France launched a plan in 2013 whose objective was to connect all French homes to very high speed, that is to say to an internet at more than 30 megabits per second, by the end of 2022 The goal was for 80% of access to be via fiber. According to Jean-Noël Barrot, the objective “was reached”. According to the latest score of theRegulatory authority for electronic communications, posts and press distribution (Arcep)carried out in the third quarter, 37 million premises can be connected to fiber, or 84% of the total. Next to “20 million homes” are subscribed to a fiber offer, specifies the minister.

The government is now planning “on a generalization of fiber by the end of 2025”according to Jean-Noël Barrot, who specifies that “10 000 sockets were deployed by operators in the third quarter”.

To reach 100%, the deployment of fiber will therefore continue, even if the installations sometimes prove complex and the operators do not always respect the objectives set by the government, as explained Le Figaro.

Orange, for example, received a fine of 26 million euros from Arcep in November for dragging its feet in the least dense areas. At the end of November, the government signed a new agreement to achieve its objectives with the historic operator, recall The echoes.