Bouygues Telecom announces a partnership with the Axione/Mirova consortium to roll out FTTH infrastructure in the Very Dense Area. This partnership is based on the model already developed by Axione with local authorities within public initiative networks in rural areas.

Paris, 12 December 2018 – Following a call for tenders by Bouygues Telecom, Axione, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, and its financial partner Mirova have signed a new contract to roll out and operate FTTH in the Very Dense Area. For Bouygues Telecom, this partnership guarantees the financing and roll-out of a horizontal FTTH network comprising an additional 3.4 million premises in the Very Dense Area and provides the expertise of Axione in terms of long-term infrastructure management.
Thanks to this deal, Bouygues Telecom completes its FTTH coverage and will thus have access to the entire Very Dense Area by the end of 2021. At the same time, the deal will bring to 6 million the total number of fibre optic premises operated and marketed by Axione in mainland France.

As a result, Axione and Mirova have created CityFast, a network access services provider dedicated to the Very Dense Area. Bouygues Telecom will transfer its existing fibre optic infrastructure in the Very Dense Area to CityFast and will design and roll out CityFast’s future FTTH network. CityFast will guarantee Bouygues Telecom access to its fibre optic network for a term of 30 years. CityFast will also open up this new infrastructure to all other operators. Axione will operate, maintain and market the network on behalf of CityFast.

This new contract, which is based on a model that is completely new in France, forms part of a long-term investment and diversification strategy for Axione/Mirova that might also become a benchmark worldwide.

Christian Lecoq, Bouygues Telecom CFO said:

“This new partnership for the roll-out and operation of our passive infrastructure by a recognised sector player will enable Bouygues Telecom to speed up its FTTH coverage of France and ensure an excellent level of service quality. As a result, we are pursuing our aim of providing very-high-speed internet to as many people as possible.”

Dominique Astier, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Axione, added:

“Axione is delighted to team up with Mirova to provide Bouygues Telecom, and new market players, access to a fully fibre optic very-high-speed network in the Very Dense Area. We have responsibility for operating, maintaining, and marketing the network which must be able to satisfy local requirements. We are committed to providing this new market with the expertise gained in rural areas in order to contribute to the development and opening up of FTTH infrastructure. We are proud to create this new model, which is the first of its kind in France!”

Gwenola Chambon, Head of General Infrastructure Funds at Mirova, made the following comments:

“This is a genuine future-shaping operation since it opens up this very closed market to alternative operators by providing them with the services they are looking for and which Axione and Mirova are already providing this type of clientele with in rural areas. It is therefore fully in line with our commitment to set-up and invest in very long-term public-interest infrastructure projects that benefit as many people as possible. This is a first for France, which would not have come about without our long-standing partnership with Axione. We are also delighted to provide CityFast with our recognised expertise and experience in digital network infrastructure investment since Mirova has been working in the sector since 2009 alongside Axione within Axione Infrastructures and currently manages its investments in 16 public initiative networks.”

About Bouygues Telecom
As a full-service electronic communications operator, Bouygues Telecom stands out by providing its 19.4 million customers access to the best technology has to offer on a daily basis. The very high quality of its 4G mobile network and of its fixed and Cloud services provides customers with simple solutions, enabling them to fully enjoy their digital lives, regardless of their location.
Bouygues Telecom is proud of the innovations it has offered to its customers over the last 20 years. It continues to pursue the same strategy of providing new technologies to as many people as possible. #welovetechnology www.bouyguestelecom.fr

About Axione
Axione, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, is a major player in digital infrastructure and a leading partner of the French government’s very-high-speed Internet roll-out plan. Within the framework of Public Initiative Networks backed by a number of local authorities, Axione designs, builds, finances and operates new-generation shared digital infrastructure. Axione operates in 27 different French departments via 20 very long-term contracts and two services contracts.
Axione’s initiative networks represent nearly €2 billion of public/private investment and serve seven million people, 6,500 municipalities and 310,000 businesses. Nearly 150 partner operators use the networks operated by Axione.
http://www.axione.fr

About Mirova
Mirova is a fund manager focused on responsible investment. Its philosophy is based on the conviction that integrating sustainable development themes can generate solutions that create value for investors over the long term. As pioneers in many areas of sustainable finance, Mirova’s talents will continue to focus on innovating in order to offer customers high-impact solutions tailored to their needs.
Portfolio management company – Société Anonyme (public limited company)
Registration No. 394 648 216 Paris – Approved by l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers (the French securities regulator) under No. GP 02014
59, Avenue Pierre Mendes France – 75013 – Paris
Mirova is a subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers International
Find out more: www.mirova.com

Press contacts:
Bouygues Telecom:
Caroline Chaix, +33 (0) 1 58 17 98 44 cchaixcr@bouyguestelecom.fr
Axione:
Fiorine Thiebaut, +33 (0)1 78 16 01 84, fi.thiebaut@axione.fr
Mirova:
Margaux Béal, +33 (0)1 44 50 58 80, margaux.beal@shan.fr