ARCEP facilitates procedures for local authorities wanting to obtain State financing for ultra-fast broadband network rollouts.

Paris, 30 September 2011

On 27 July 2011, the French Government released the specifications for the call for submissions of "public-initiative network" projects, under its national ultra-fast broadband programme - and so launching the financing stage for local authorities' rollout projects.
These specifications include a consultation process for the projects initiated by public authorities wanting to obtain financing from the Digital society fund (Fonds pour la Société Numérique) or FSN. Following a period of consultation devoted to talks with private sector operators in the regions where they do business, local authorities applying for funding must conduct a formal consultation whose purpose is to obtain precise and detailed information on private operators' rollout plans in the different regions.

ARCEP has agreed to lend its technical support to help ensure the process runs smoothly. As a result, a provision will come into effect on 1 October 2011 that requires local authorities to provide ARCEP with information that makes it possible to identify the scope of their project, at least six months prior to filing their complete application with the Caisse des dépôts. Within seven working days, ARCEP will publish this information, intact, on its website. Operators will then have two months from that date of publication to inform the local authority of their own rollout plans for the area targeted for coverage by the public-initiative network.

To facilitate the implementation of this public consultation procedure, ARCEP is publishing a memo on its website that details the procedure to follow and specifying the methods to be used for transmitting this information.

The list of public-initiative network projects applying for financing under the national ultra-fast broadband programme, and the information supplied by the local authorities behind them, can be viewed online at: www.arcep.fr/collectivites . An RSS feed is also available to keep up with the latest additions to the list.

ARCEP departments are available to answer queries about these measures from local authorities and their representative groups. They can contact either their usual interlocutor or call 01.40.47.71.40.