“Guaranteeing connectivity for French businesses, and stimulating competition” are among the priorities set out in Arcep’s Ambition 2030 strategy. Having access to high performance, reliable and affordable connectivity is in fact key to an enterprise’s ability to stay competitive, regardless of its sector or size.
Helping businesses make informed choices to accelerate their digital transformation, at a time of major technological shifts
The proliferation of available solutions, evolving networks – with the deployment of fibre and 5G, and the switchoff of copper and 2G and 3G networks, along with the emergence of new issues and challenges, cybersecurity, cloud computing – can make it difficult for businesses to choose the solutions best suited to their needs.
The ICT handbook for businesses, published by Arcep, is designed to give businesses all of the key information they need to understand the issues surrounding digital infrastructures, to make informed choices, and to leverage competition between providers. To this end, the handbook guides businesses step by step to help them:
- Understand their digital infrastructure needs;
- Choose the right connectivity and cloud computing plans;
- Manage their relationship with electronic communications providers;
- Anticipate changes resulting from the decommissioning of certain older networks and services;
- Connect their premises to the fibre network;
- Discover business applications for wireless networks;
- Improve the quality of their fixed and mobile connections.
A partner-based initiative and an event hosted by Bpifrance
The handbook was produced thanks to contributions from some twenty partners: France’s Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty, ANSSI, DGCCRF, ANCT, Bpifrance, France Num, the “Médiateur des entreprises” ombudsman, AFUTT, Avicca, CDRT, Cigref, Cinov Digital, CPME, Fédération EBEN, InfraNum,Medef, U2P, AOTA and FFTélécoms.
To mark the publication of this handbook, Bpifrance hosted an event at its offices at 6 pm on Monday, 23 March. After opening remarks by Arcep Chair, Laure de La Raudière, and Bpifrance Board Director, Bruno Gueit, the handbook was presented by Ghislain Heude, Director of Arcep’s “Fibre, infrastructures and Territories" department.
Marion Sallandre, Head of Arcep’s “Business market” unit, then moderated a panel on the ICT challenges facing businesses in 2026, with panellists:
- Franck BATAILLE (Member of the CPME Executive Committee for ICT and Innovation)
- Maxence DEMERLE (Director of Digital Affairs, MEDEF)
- Laura CHEVALLIER (Le Prieuré de Boulogne)
- Baptiste JACQUIAU (Director of Customer relations, Enov), responsible for Novascope, an observatory of electronic communications markets and networks and ICT services in French businesses, some of whose findings for 2025 were presented during the panel discussion)