Axione, a major player in the digital development of both rural and urban regions, is introducing a “Fibre Passport” to guarantee the quality of FTTH connections for the public and businesses.
The digital sector and stakeholders are working to improve the quality of FTTH (fibre to the home) connections. To address these concerns, the sector has submitted a quality plan to the Government. One of its priorities is to ensure the skills of those working on FTTH networks.
Following on from the work carried out under InfraNum[1], Axione is now introducing a “Fibre Passport” based on the guidelines drawn up in consultation with all stakeholders in the sector. The aim is to ensure a similar level of quality and safety for all connections made.
The criteria for earning the label are as follows:
Compliance with security rules
Careful attention to customer relations
The quality of on-site work at the client’s location
Application of engineering rules
The quality of optical work
Knowledge of IT tools
This passport is issued to all connection companies and their technicians by means of an official card. This card must always be carried by certified technicians during assignments. Any failure to do so will require the technician to complete a suitable and documented refresher course to regain their passport. The aim is to guarantee and monitor the proper skill level of technicians against the standards defined by the sector as a whole (operators, integrators and subcontractors). Axione will extend this system to all its networks if it proves to be effective.
Moreover, to support the work of the industry, Axione is offering other interested infrastructure operators and commercial operators the opportunity to be fully involved in monitoring the scheme.
We are pleased to be testing a new practice and to be introducing it in the Berry area from March 2023. With this collective scheme, Axione is ensuring that service provider evaluation criteria defined with the sector are applied to maintain the newly built infrastructure network. This label is part of Infranum’s action plan, which is awaited by the government, Arcep and the regions. Initial feedback from connection companies shows that they welcome the scheme. I am sure that this initiative will help the whole sector to progress for the country’s benefit.
Gauthier Nanoux, Head of Operations at Axione.
The fibre passport is a big step forward to ensure that connections are made in compliance with the rules of the trade, to maintain continuity of the very high speed service for all those using the Berry Fibre Optic public network: the label emphasises quality to ensure the durability of the network. For the Berry area, some connectors are already involved; we expect the whole sector to support its roll-out on a national scale.
Laurent Roussat, Manager of Berry Fibre Optique
Berry Numérique has been involved in developing the arrangements for fibre optic connections at national level for several years. After obtaining provisional connection schedules and systematically carrying out spot checks, the certification of operators marks a new stage in improving the quality of these connections. We hope that this label will quickly be applied to all the players in the sector so that this essential public fibre optic network infrastructure is of the highest quality, all the way to the optical socket in every home in our regions.
Patrick Barnier, CEO of Berry Numérique
This approach is essential to ensure high quality, professional connections, but also the durability of the networks built by local authorities.This is why the RIP36 mixed association is fully involved in the initiative to help the people of Indre.
Marc Fleuret, CEO of RIP36.
Back to images on the pilot launch withBerry Numérique :
Axione, a major stakeholder in digital infrastructure for rural and urban areas, is rolling out digital services to ensure sustainable connectivity for the economic, social and societal development of the French regions.
AXIONE ACHIEVES RECORD SALES OF €700M IN 2022
Axione had an outstanding year in 2022, with record sales of €700m. Order intake was also up over the year and visibility on the company’s sales increased, with a backlog of around €1.5bn.
Despite ongoing inflation, energy and contract management pressures, Axione has risen to the challenge of digitalizing the regions with a high level of operational efficiency.
The challenge in the coming months will be to navigate the strategic bends in our path while remaining focused on our immediate operational issues. We will have to diversify our portfolio, ncrease investment in digitalization and successfully develop our Axione 5transformation project.
Éric Jammaron, Chairman of Axione
AXIONE5, MAJOR TRANSFORMATION PROJECT BY 2026
To prepare for the gradual end of the main fibre optic markets and to ensure another twenty years of success, Axione has embarked on a major transformation plan out to 2026: Axione5.
Drawing on the group’s strength, values and belief in its ability to change the world, the company aims to become a benchmark player in new uses, to harness the potential of the regions to seize the opportunities offered by digitalization and, above all, to play an active role in ecological and societal transitions, in keeping with its CSR policy, which is the cornerstone of its overall performance.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY A TOP PRIORITY FOR AXIONE IN 2023
By positioning itself as a benchmark player in the digital transition of regions and organisations, Axione is committed to providing its stakeholders with digital services that have a positive impact while guaranteeing strategic uses.
Axione’s strategy is based on three major pillars:
Serving the regions. Strengthening ties with stakeholders to serve the regions has become a priority for the company, which is working towards a more inclusive digital transition. In particular, Axione is involved in sponsorship around the five themes of the transformation plan (region, responsibility, common good, progress and impact).
Protecting the environment. Axione aims to balance environmental and digital needs by reducing its environmental footprint and introducing a climate roadmap in line with the Paris agreements. Axione wants staff to adopt environmentally friendly business practices and behave respectfully towards the environment to protect biodiversity.
Promoting the advancement of men and women.Axione strives to enhance the employee experience. Developing the digital careers of the future and a sense of belonging are company priorities.
We overhauled our CSR strategy in 2022, to strengthen our ambitions and underpin Axione’s sustainability. We believe that this latest step in our CSR efforts is essential to our future and that of our customers, employees and regions. To address social, societal and environmental challenges, Axione is embracing its DNA of creating and sharing value by working more closely with local communities to maximise its impact and help bring about fair and useful progress.
Founded in 2003, Axione has since fulfilled a public interest mission in the scope of the “Plan France Très Haut Débit” (Very High Speed France Plan) to ensure the digital development of France’s regions. Representing a symbolic city in Axione’s narrative, Pau and its surrounding region is one of the first to be 100% connected via fibre optic. Considered as the core of Axione’s network, the Pyrite building centralises the Group’s various lines of expertise to further its local and national influence.
The inauguration of the site in Pau is a symbolic moment for Axione: it confirms the company’s ambition to develop the region commercially in collaboration with its main institutional and industrial partners.
Commissioned by the Communauté d’Agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées urban community, the public service delegation “La Fibre Paloise” (LFP), a subsidiary of Axione, has managed to connect one in every two inhabitants of Pau (in Pau itself and the surrounding suburbs), as well as many local businesses, to the network.
In order to provide guests with an even more concrete and immersive experience, a series of workshops presenting the businesses will be organised by the company’s departments. Partners will be able to try their hand at optical welding, and visit the network operations centre, open for the occasion, to see the teams focused on ensuring the 24/7 network supervision service.
Two years after its delivery, the THD42 Public Initiative Network, built by the SIEL-Territoire d’énergie energy authority for the Loire department and operated by Axione Infrastructures subsidiary THD42 Exploitation, is set to reach the 100,000th subscriber mark.
This milestone reflects the ability to collectively carry out a project that supports regional development and serves new digital use cases.
The Loire department in east-central France has shown itself once again to be a model of digital development thanks to the THD42 Public Initiative Network and the fibre-to-the-home technology covering all of rural Loire. The SIEL-TE energy authority, which is driving this ambitious project, has been engaging since 2015 with public players to secure funding of €283 million and with 18 partner companies in order to deploy fibre infrastructure over a 5-year period. The infrastructure is intended to serve 274 municipalities outside of “AMII” areas, making more than 190,000 premises eligible for superfast broadband. This strong commitment from SIEL-TE and local authorities ensures digital coverage for everyone as well as a unique pre-connection scheme available to all residents free of charge until 2025.
This collective success was achieved by properly coordinating shared tasks between SIEL-TE and THD42 Exploitation, the company responsible for operating the network and marketing it to partner operators, specifically to 11 consumer ISPs (Internet Service Providers). THD42 Exploitation operates within the framework of a 15-year concession contract and pays a €100 million fee to SIEL-TE.
With more than 13,000km of optical fibre deployed and 250 technical sites, THD42 Exploitation teams inspect the public infrastructure and keep it in good working order, thus delivering service continuity to subscribers. This is critical at a time when, regardless of where people live, connectivity is key to the expansion of practices like home working, telemedicine and remote learning. Of course, the health crisis has accentuated this need, leading to a sea-change in both personal and professional habits.
In passing the milestone of 100,000 subscribers, the THD42 network has shown how enthusiastic Loire residents are about having access to superfast, high-quality broadband in rural areas. A trailblazer, the Loire department is leading the way in terms of rural areas with full fibre coverage, even as France as a whole ramps up fibre deployment in view of the development implications.
The Loire department’s exemplary digital development is a response to the need to find solutions to tomorrow’s challenges. With the scheduled switch-off of the traditional copper network, SIEL-TE and THD42 Exploitation are taking steps to digitise the whole region in keeping with public policies promoting inclusion and access for all, so that the societal and environmental challenges facing us can be met.
Five years later, we have done it: the final deployment work has been completed. Thanks to the commitment of the teams as well as the confidence of Seine-Maritime Numérique, we have come to the end of this ambitious project. A second phase is now starting, involving data exchanges with the operator of the network, to enable marketing of Very High Speed broadband to inhabitants between now and end-2023.
“The Seine-Maritime fibre optic deployment project was a challenge which mobilised more than 300 staff over five years. It is thanks to their determination to complete the fibre installation in the department that we managed to complete our mission. To carry out this ambitious project, we could rely on the trust placed in us by the Syndicat Mixte Seine-Maritime Numérique. Today, we now have to close the less visible, but equally important phase, of exchanging technical data and administrative processing of markets. And this should be completed within the coming months. Let’s congratulate the teams for the excellent work they have achieved!” Jérémie Leonardi, Deployment Manager Seine-Maritime
In 2017, the Syndicat Mixte Seine-Maritime Numérique assigned the fibre optic deployment works to the grouping Bouygues Energies & Services, Axione and Résonance to provide Very High Speed Broadband to all local residents by 2023.
The mission of the Axione teams? To provide their expertise in deployment of the fibre telecommunications network for two zones, representing 50% coverage of the department, thereby enabling 120,000 FTTH connections.
In green, the Axione zones
All told, close to 300 people, including Axione staff and our external partners, contributed to the success of the deployment:
Around 80 Axione employees
Around 50 employees at the Deployment Department (DPL), of which around 30 to steer the project and about 20 in the Engineering and Design Office.
Around 30 employees at the Production Department (DPR) directly on site.
More than 200 external staff
To support this project, we called on around 40 sub-contractors (civil engineering, optics, tree surgeons, etc.).
👏 Well done to all of the teams for their commitment to this impressive project (external communication only: and Seine-Maritime Numérique for placing its trust in us)!
A reminder: the project in a few key figures
-120,000 FTTH connections
-17 optical fibre nodes built
-275 local connection points
In 2011, France’s Vaucluse department entrusted Vaucluse Numérique, via a Public Service Delegation contract, with the deployment of optical fibre for professionals throughout the region, then for the general public in 2017. Today, this objective has been reached. Focus on the upcoming steps in this project.
A new stage has been reached for the Vaucluse Numérique Very High-Speed departmental network.
The Vaucluse department is carrying out an ambitious project for the digital development of its territory, and has entrusted the design, construction and operation of a fibre optic departmental network to Vaucluse Numérique in the scope of a public service delegation contract signed in 2011.
Vaucluse Numérique designed and built this network in three phases, the last two of which brought fibre into every home within the area of public intervention between 2017 and 2021. Vaucluse Numérique thus fulfilled its commitments to meet the Vaucluse department’s ambition in the scope of the France Très Haut Débit (Very High Speed) plan.
The network’s operation was initiated in parallel to the deployment of the digital infrastructures built.
This new stage marks the end of the deployment; the focus now lies on the life of the network. Accordingly, the role of Vaucluse Numérique is now to maintain the public infrastructure, ensure its continuity and develop it in line with the territory’s requirements.
A deployment completed across the entire public initiative area of Vaucluse
Thanks to Vaucluse Numérique, all households located in the Vaucluse public initiative area have access to very high-speed fibre optic broadband, via the operator of their choice. This represents 121,513 homes, spread out over 105 districts, covering two thirds of the Vaucluse region and one third of its population, and 11 operators commercially present, 4 of which are French players.
The following have been deployed for this project:
35 Optical Nodes;
266 street cabinets;
More than 8,500 km of fibre optic cable, mainly using existing infrastructures to limit the impact of works in the region.
We have implemented a public project that represents a major technological change, one that can be compared with the region’s electrification or the telephone network deployment in the last century
Cyril Carlin, Director of Vaucluse Numérique.
What now?
The end of the network’s construction now gives way to an operational phase to ensure its smooth functioning, as well as to a development phase with the creation of new infrastructures or new services to meet the needs of a thriving region. Vaucluse Numérique is thus focused on operating activities to ensure the operational maintenance of the network provided to commercial operators, and to carry out developments to deliver an equitable service to all users in the Vaucluse region. Vaucluse Numérique has a duty to sustainably maintain and extend the digital infrastructures, taking into account the projects and the specificities of the regions involved.
These operating activities revolve around three main families:
Connecting homes and companies: Vaucluse Numérique oversees and controls the installation of connections by ISPs, and offers them its support in the event of any difficulties, while carrying out some of these connections itself.
Maintaining the network: Vaucluse Numérique operates preventively to best anticipate and limit the appearance of incidents, and remedially to resolve incidents reported (damage to the network, loss of service associated with the infrastructure, etc.).
Developing and extending the network: Vaucluse Numérique advances the department’s network in line with new constructions or developments sought for the region.
Every month, Vaucluse Numérique already carries out more than a hundred maintenance operations; each month for the past two years, 1,000 new users have joined the network, attesting to the region’s genuine appeal for very high-speed connectivity in these times of change brought about by the digital transformation of our society.
Beyond improving present-day uses thanks to equal access to very high-speed broadband, including for the most rural and isolated areas, this major public network fosters new uses, whether through public or private initiatives, which will promote the Vaucluse region’s appeal for the benefit of all the people and businesses based there.
To address the challenge of digital transformation in the UK, Axione supported by its shareholders Bouygues Energies & Services and Vauban Infrastructure Partners has created Axione Fibre, a company dedicated to deploying and operating a full-fibre network targeting sub-urban and rural areas to help bridge the digital divide.
Axione Fibre will design, build and operate a wholesale full-fibre network. Based on an open access network model, Axione Fibre acts as a wholesale-only operator partnering with internet service providers, integrators, operators and channel partners to offer reliable ultrafast broadband services to end-users.
This £300m investment raised along with third party equity partners is the first phase of a large-scale project aiming to reach 4 million premises throughout the UK.
Axione Fibre will be able to rely on its shareholders’ experience, knowhow, and financial strength to achieve this major project alongside building on Axione’s industrial and commercial expertise backed by Bouygues Group, a major international player in construction and telecommunications, and Vauban Infrastructure Partners, an affiliate of Natixis, a major investment management company in the infrastructure space.
Axione have a long history of successfully deploying and operating digital infrastructure assets. Axione was a pioneer in the deployment of full fibre networks in France operating under an open-access model. This success resides first and foremost in a philosophy based on developing essential digital infrastructure to support local social and economic transformation.
Dominique Astier, Managing Director of Axione UK, said:“Full-fibre networks are essential infrastructure to deliver digital services to all residential, corporate and public sector premises. Axione is delighted to partner with Vauban to create Axione Fibre, a large scale FTTP pure wholesale operator targeting small towns and villages across the UK”.
Pierre Vanstoflegatte, Managing Director of the Bouygues Construction Energies & Services Division; Chairman of Bouygues Energies & Services and President of Axione, said:“Having proved the strength of its model in France, Axione is leveraging its expertise in the UK, a key market in the development strategy of Bouygues Construction’s energy and services division, through Axione Fibre. In all the countries in which we operate, we want to do more to deliver essential resources to local and regional communities, helping them to forge their future. Digital infrastructure forms the basis of this value-creating digital transformation.”
Gwenola Chambon, CEO and founding partner of Vauban Infrastructure Partners, said:“More than ten years ago, we were among the very first infrastructure investors to invest in the digital sector, in France, as we were convinced that FTTP networks were both essential for the development of communities and presented a unique business growth opportunity. Since 2009, as a result of our ongoing commitment to this essential sector, we have built a major digital infrastructure portfolio in France alongside Axione. Axione is the wholesale broadband operator partner with whom we have built a very strong partnership over the years, crowned by a participation in Axione’s capital from the beginning of 2019. Our objective as shareholder of Axione is to support its development in France and foster its diversification of business by exporting its expertise abroad. Axione Fibre in the UK paves the way for this strategic development and represents the first step of this strategy.”
Atos, Axione and Siemens have been awarded the contract to supply, implement and maintain the multi-service network and video surveillance system for three of the four future Parisian metro lines (15, 16 and 17) which are part of « Grand Paris Express », the largest urban transport project in Europe.The project includes the construction of an automatic metro around Paris to avoid passing through the center of the French capital. The contract awarded to Atos, Axione and Siemens is worth €153 million and will continue until the construction of the Grand Paris Express is completed.
The new automatic metro lines (underground and overground), which will span 129 km and have 49 stations, will serve not only business and residential districts and airports, but also numerous local amenities. These transport lines will help create a new dynamic by increasing economic and social opportunities in the Paris region and beyond.
For this ambitious project, Atos, Axione and Siemens will bring together their industrial and technological expertise in the design, construction, implementation and deployment of the network infrastructures, datacenters, and access control and intrusion detection technologies. They will also manage telephony, air quality monitoring and intelligent video surveillance solutions. Finally, they will ensure the digital security of all systems. All these services will support the construction of the infrastructure over a long-term period.
We are particularly proud to be building the infrastructure of these future metro lines by bringing together our integration know-how with our expertise in datacenters, telephony and cybersecurity. The Atos teams, in collaboration with local SMEs, are happy to put all their experience at the service of the citizens of Greater Paris and thus support the development of the region
Guillaume Beuscart, SVP, Global Head of Retail, Transportation and Logistics atAtos
We are proud to contribute to this major project by deploying a multi-service network infrastructure, the cornerstone of the interconnection of all the technological systems of the Grand Paris Express metro. Axione’s teams have designed a secure, innovative and scalable network architecture that meets the expectations of passenger transportation and is open to further developments. A project of this scale requires rigor, long-term commitment and multidisciplinary expertise – values that are at the heart of Axione’s DNA.
Eric Jammaron, Deputy CEO, Axione
Creating intelligent infrastructures which serve the safety of people and property is the ‘raison d’être’ of our high value-added solutions. As part of the Grand Paris Express project, the Siemens Smart Infrastructure teams are mobilizing their expertise as integrators and their recognized know-how to design and develop specific and innovative technologies: access control, intrusion detection or even intelligent image analysis to detect suspicious events.
Doris Birkhofer, Managing Director at Siemens Smart Infrastructure France
The three companies are committed to supporting the Société du Grand Paris throughout the duration of the contract with this proactive environmental approach to develop a modern and reliable public transportation network. This project shows how the expertise of the three companies could also be used to benefit other local ecosystems, in the areas of mobility services, decarbonization policies or urban planning.
This project reflects Atos’ ambition to contribute to the development of “intelligent territories” and will facilitate the deployment of new digital services for local authorities and populations.
Credits: Société du Grand Paris / Leticia Pontual
About Atos
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 110,000 employees and annual revenue of € 12 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 73 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos operates under the brands Atos and Atos|Syntel. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.
The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.
About Axione
Axione, a major player in the digital development of rural and urban areas, has based its business plan on its ability to design, build, finance and operate next-generation digital infrastructure in a way that supports the democratisation of digital technology and its uses. Backed by its shareholders, Bouygues Energies & Services and Vauban Infrastructure Partners, and innovative partners, Axione is continuing to expand by providing private and public clients with solutions that help make digital technology a sustainable tool for their projects and policies.
Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) is shaping the market for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure for today and the future. It addresses the pressing challenges of urbanization and climate change by connecting energy systems, buildings and industries. SI provides customers with a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio from a single source – with products, systems, solutions and services from the point of power generation all the way to consumption. With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, it helps customers thrive and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. SI creates environments that care. Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and has around 72,000 employees worldwide.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. Active around the world, the company focuses on intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems and on automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Siemens brings together the digital and physical worlds to benefit customers and society. Through Mobility, a leading supplier of intelligent mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is helping to shape the world market for passenger and freight services. Via its majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital health services. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power that has been listed on the stock exchange since September 28,
2020.
In fiscal 2020, which ended on September 30, 2020, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €57.1 billion and net income of €4.2 billion. As of September 30, 2020, the company had around 293,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com
Press release
FIBRE44, a company formed by the Axione group, Vauban Infrastructure Partners and the Banque des Territoires, has announced the signing of a 30-year public service delegation contract for the deployment and operation of the optical fibre network (290,000 FTTH sockets at term) for the Département of Loire Atlantique, as well as the implementation of the 1st “Sustainable Loan” in the fibre telecoms sector in France, awarded by banking partners (Caisse d’Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire, Natixis, Société Générale and Industrial and Commercial Credit (CIC, Crédit Industriel et Commercial)) to FIBRE44. This operation is part of the Loire-Atlantique 100% fibre objective by 2025 for private individuals, businesses and public services.
An ambitious, exemplary and socially inclusive objective
The contract has a twofold objective: to build and operate 179,000 sockets within 4 years in addition to the FTTH sockets deployed by the Département, and then, before 2027, take over all the deployed infrastructure (around 290,000 FTTH sockets) and provide for their technical and commercial operation until 2050.
Axione can draw on experience with local authorities dating back to 2003 and has the support of its financial partners Vauban and the Banque des Territoires, and is therefore committed to an ambitious and credible deployment schedule that is consistent with its current constraints.
Labelled funding, reflecting the sustainable and committed nature of the project
This operation will be carried out entirely using funding from FIBRE44 shareholders (Axione, Vauban and Banque des Territoires), and banking partners (Caisse d’Epargne Bretagne Pays de Loire, Natixis, Société Générale and the CIC).
FIBRE44 is getting the first sustainable loan certification in the fibre telecoms sector for the project’s bank financing from Vigeo Eiris, a leading international social and environmental rating agency, with the support of its Natixis board, thus confirming its strong commitment and the project’s benefits for social and sustainable development in the département of Loire-Atlantique.
FIBRE44 is becoming a key player in reducing the digital divide between the département’s dense areas and rural areas through this project, and will provide access to Very High Speed Broadband for the département’s entire population. FIBER44 is also committed to deploying a volume of
250,000 hours of vocational integration and training over the duration of the contract. In total, more than 500 jobs will be mobilized for this vast development project.
“Digital has become essential infrastructure for the regions. Vauban’s role, as an investor, is to enable local authorities to seize this development opportunity. By signing this fibre deployment project in the département of Loire-Atlantique covering public initiative networks, Vauban confirms its commitment to mobilizing the long-term resources of institutional investors to place them at the service of the real economy and to have a sustainable positive impact. Obtaining this first “Sustainable Loan” certification is an innovative process and fully reflects our strategy as an active and responsible investor.” Gwenola Chambon, Managing Director of Vauban Infrastructure Partners
“Through its role as a digital developer, Axione supports communities in their territorial digital transition in order to amplify local and collaborative dynamics. Deploying optical fibre in all premises in Loire Atlantique not only enhances everyone’s accessibility to digital uses and services, but also enables the emergence of innovative solutions that can be deployed locally and contribute to contemporary challenges.Beyond the construction and operation of digital infrastructure, FIBRE44 intends to be a responsible local player that is committed both at a societal and environmental level. The implementation of this first sustainable loan in the fibre sector demonstrates a first concrete commitment to developing long-lasting financial, technical, organizational and partnership solutions that are part of a dynamic of local and sustainable development.” Eric Jammaron, Deputy CEO at Axione
“The Banque des Territoires is joining forces with its long-standing partners, Axione and Vauban Infrastructure Partners, to invest in the deployment of fibre in Loire-Atlantique. We remain more fully committed than ever to combating the digital divide: Fibre44 is thus the 27th public initiative network supported by the Banque des Territoires in France, and the fourth in the Pays-de-la-Loire region. With this first sustainable loan for a public initiative network granted to the project company (of which the Banque des Territoires is a shareholder), the Banque des Territoires also confirms its commitment to a sustainable and socially responsible digital transition.The certification of the debt borne by Fibre44 is therefore perfectly in line with the example-setting of our investment approach in the digital infrastructure sector.These certifications constitute an important attestation of transparency to ensure that our investments not only contribute to bringing very high speed broadband to rural or suburban areas, but also that they actually benefit employment, integration and in fine the local economy.“ Philippe Jusserand, Regional Director of the Banque des Territoires
About Axione
Axione, owned by Bouygues Energies & Services and Vauban Infrastructure Partners, is a major player in the digital development of rural and urban areas. Partner committed to the
Very High Speed Broadband Plan for France, Axione designs, builds, finances and operates new generation digital fixed and mobile infrastructure on its own account and for that of local authorities or service operators. Levering intensity of competition and diversity of uses and services,
Axione operates in all French regions (very dense areas and less dense areas) and offers telecoms operators Very High Speed Broadband access services for their subscribers by sharing its digital infrastructure, open and accessible to everyone (6 million FTTH sockets in France). Almost 150 operators use the networks operated by Axione.
About Vauban
Vauban Infrastructure Partners (“Vauban”) is a management company of the BPCE group, dedicated to infrastructure investments. Vauban operates on the European market in 4 sectors: digital infrastructure, mobility, energy transition and social infrastructure, with landmark investments such as Oc’via – Nîmes-Montpellier Bypass, the Ministry of Defense in Balard, the Nord Pas de Calais Very High Speed Broadband or Cityfast. Vauban’s strategic positioning is based on a vision of long-term investment aimed at sustainable returns and a strong commitment to all stakeholders. Vauban’s team is made up of 40 professionals who have been working together for ten years. Vauban now manages more than 4 billion Euros with more than 40 investors through six infrastructure funds and has made more than 60 investments in more than ten countries.
About the Banque des Territoires
Created in 2018, the Banque des Territoires is one of the five businesses of the Caisse des Dépôts. It groups together internally into a single structure expertise intended for the regions. A single gateway for customers, it offers tailor-made loan and investment advice and financing solutions to meet the needs of local authorities, social housing organizations, local public companies and the legal professions. It is aimed at all the regions, from rural areas to metropolitan ones, with the aim of combating social inequalities and regional divides. The Banque des Territoires is deployed in the 16 regional directorates and the 35 regional offices of the Caisse des Dépôts in order to be better identified with its customers and to be as close as possible to them.
For regions that are more attractive, inclusive, sustainable and connected.
Frédéric Duché, Chairman of SMO Eure Normandie Numérique, Patrick Canton, Director of Eure Normandie THD and Fabienne Dulac, Deputy Director General & CEO of Orange France announce the arrival of Orange Fibre broadband deals on the Eure public network.
To announce the arrival of Orange as an internet service provider (ISP) on the Eure public network, Frédéric Duché, Chairman of Eure Normandie Numérique symbolically chose to hold a press conference in Authevernes, a fibre-connected village in which inhabitants will be able to choose Orange for their Superfast Broadband connection from the end of the month.
Orange are finalizing their equipment installations, currently completing the final technical operations in order to commercialize their Fibre broadband deals more widely. From the end of the month, Orange Fibre broadband will be available in 24 communes* including Authevernes, Rugles, Gisors and La Saussaye, representing 7,000 local homes and businesses.
By the end of 2020*, Orange plan to make Orange Fibre broadband available to a further 45 communes including Bernay, Pont-Audemer, Le Neubourg and Conches-en-Ouche (15,000 homes). Orange then aim to gradually make their Fibre deals available as and when the Eure public network is rolled out.
“The roll-out of superfast broadband in the Eure department of France is the result of strong political commitment from the elected representatives in the area” reiterated Frédéric Duché, Chairman of SMO Eure Normandie Numérique.
Numerous actions have already been carried out in partnership with Orange, such as increase in broadband speed, mobile telephony, etc. Our high-quality fibre network is built to meet the expectations of the market players and designed to welcome all the operators in a sustainable manner. This is why we welcome the arrival of Orange, the historic French operator, and the eventual availability of their services for all the inhabitants of the Eure department. The elected representative then highlighted the conscientiousness of the operator, which continued to work during the lockdown period.
Patrick Canton, Director of Eure Normandie THD, stated that “Eure Normandie THD are steering the commercial operations on the Eure public network for all the operators involved and are already providing services in almost 30,000 homes in 112 communes. Eure Normandie THD welcomes a new nationwide operator such as Orange, which will boost the commercialization of fibre for the highest possible number of individuals and businesses”.
Fabienne Dulac, Deputy Director General & CEO of Orange France, added that “today’s announcement of the arrival of Orange as an internet services provider on the Eure public network means that 22,000 homes and businesses in 69 communes of the Eure will soon have access to the full set of Orange Fibre broadbanddeals. We are delighted to work together with the Departmental authorities and public bodies for digital development in the Eure with a common objective, i.e. developing its attractiveness.”
* Communes eligible for Orange Fibre on the Eure public network:
End of September, 24 communes (7,000 homes and businesses eligible for Orange Fibre): Ambenay, Amécourt, Authevernes, Bazincourt-sur-Epte, Bois-Anzeray, Bois-Arnault, Chéronvilliers, Gisors, Guerny, Hébécourt, La Saussaye, La Vieille-Lyre, Les Thilliers-en-Vexin, Le-Thuit-de-l’Oison, Mandeville, Neaufles-Auvergny, Rugles, Saint-Cyr-la-Campagne, Saint-Denis-le-Ferment, Saint-Didier-des-Bois, Saint-Germain-de-Pasquier, Saint-Pierre-des-Fleurs, Vesly, Vraiville.
End of 2020, a further 45 communes (15,000 homes and businesses eligible for Orange Fibre): Aulnay-sur-Iton, Bacquepuis, Beaubray, Bernay, Bernienville, Boissy-Lamberville, Campigny, Canappeville, Capelle-les-Grands, Caorches-Saint-Nicolas, Claville, Collandres-Quincarnon, Colletot, Conches-en-Ouche, Corneville-sur-Risle, Courbépine, Crosville-la-Vieille, Daubeuf-la-Campagne, Ecquetot, Émanville, Épreville-près-le-Neubourg, Feuguerolles, Glisolles, Iville, Faverolles-la-Campagne, Ferrières-Haut-Clocher, Gaudreville-la-Rivière, Grand-Camp, Graveron-Sémerville, La Bonneville-sur-Iton, La Croisille, La Ferrière-sur-Risle, Le Fidelaire, Le Neubourg, Le Perrey, Le Tilleul-Lambert, Le Tremblay-Omonville, Les Préaux, Le Val-Doré, Louversey, Manneville-sur-Risle, Nagel-Séez-Mesnil, Nogent-le-Sec, Plainville, Pont-Audemer, Portes, Ormes, Saint-Aubin-d’Écrosville, Saint-Élier, Sainte-Marthe, Sainte-Colombe-la-Commanderie Saint-Mards-de-Blacarville, Saint-Siméon, Saint-Sulpice-de-Grimbouville, Saint-Symphorien, Saint-Victor-de-Chrétienville, Sébécourt, Selles, Tournedos-Bois-Hubert, Tourville-sur-Pont-Audemer, Toutainville, Triqueville, Venon, Villettes, Villez-sur-le-Neubourg, Vitot.
About Eure Normandie Numérique
The SMO (Syndicat Mixte Ouvert) was created in 2014 and groups together all the EPCI (Public Bodies for Intercommunal Cooperation) in the Eure, the Departmental and regional authorities, with the objective of building a superfast broadband public network made from 238,000-connector fibre, excluding the areas of Evreux (formerly Grand Evreux Agglomération), Louviers (23,000 connections) and Vernon (28,000 connections) which benefit from a network built by private operators. In the remaining the area, Eure Normandie Numérique is responsible for rolling out a neutral and open network. It will provide solutions for the needs of both individuals and businesses, as well as the public sector. The roll-out should be completed in 2023 over the entire Eure area.
Since 2019, Eure Normandie Numérique has entrusted Axione, via public service delegation, with the tasks of continuing the operation and extending the fibre optic network over the next 20 years for a fee of 230 million Euros.
About Axione and Eure Normandie THD
Axione is owned by Bouygues Energies & Services and Vauban Infrastructure Partners and is a major player in the rollout of digital technology in both rural and urban areas. As a partner in the French Ultra-High Speed Broadband Plan, Axione design, build, finance, and operate new generation digital services (FTTH, 4G, etc.) on its own behalf and for regional authorities and service providers. Axione is a lever for competitive intensity and diversity of deals, and intervenes in all French regions (very dense areas and less dense areas) and provides telecom operators with superfast broadband connection services for their subscribers by pooling their digital infrastructure, which is open and accessible to all. Nearly 150 providers use the networks operated by Axione.
Eure Normandie THD was formed by Axione and its partners MIROVA SP5 & FIDEPPP2, both businesses managed by MIROVA (BPCE group) (55%), and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (30%), as part of a 20-year public service delegation starting on 3rd June 2019.ENTHD is a company dedicated to the superfast broadband project in the Eure department of France. For 20 years, it will take care of the engineering and commercial operations, as well as the maintenance of at least 238,000 FTTH connections on the French Superfast Broadband public network (with 178,000 connections provided specifically by the Syndicate and 60,000 connections provided by Eure Normandie THD), and also lead the commercialization without discrimination for local and national telecommunications operators.
About Orange
Orange is one of the leading global telecommunications network operators, with a turnover of 42 billion Euros in 2019 and 145,000 employees on 31st March 2020, including 85,000 in France. The Group served 253 million customers on 31st March 2020, including 208 million mobile customers and 21 million landline broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a global leader in enterprise IT and communications services under the trade name Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new strategic plan “Engage 2025” which, guided by social and environmental exemplarity, aims to reinvent its operator model. As well as accelerating in growth areas sectors and placing Data and AI at the heart of its model for innovation, the Group is committed to being an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to the emerging occupations.
Orange is listed on the Euronext Paris securities market (ORA symbol) and on the New York Stock Exchange (ORAN symbol).
