Arcep and Arcom are publishing the third edition of their common Digital Society Index. This new edition updates and completes key data on digital use and behaviours in France.
The Digital Society Index, which is the fruit of the collaboration between Arcep and Arcom, via their Joint Digital Division, delivers a quantified snapshot of fixed network rollouts, mobile network coverage, households’ internet access, internet use, digital technologies’ environmental impact, and audiovisual and cultural behaviours.
This third edition of the Index takes a look at new topics such as 5G network rollouts, connected object adoption levels, changes in online traffic patterns to the main ISPs, music livestreaming, online image search and the blocking of illegal sports streaming sites.
Superfast fixed and mobile: fibre plans now account for the majority of subscriptions in France, and internet traffic continues to grow dramatically
The key findings include the ongoing surge in superfast fixed internet access subscription numbers (65% at the end of Q2 2022, + 9 points YoY). The number of fibre subscriptions stood at 17.1 million as of 30 September 2022, or 54% of all broadband and superfast broadband subscriptions (+11points YoY). At the same time, internet traffic continues to increase dramatically. Incoming traffic to the top ISPs rose by 25% YoY in in the second half of 2021, which is nevertheless below the growth rate in H2 2020 (+50%).
Households and individuals more and more connected and better equipped
The 2023 Index reveals that televisions remain the most popular household device in France, and that 84% of them are connected to the Internet[1]. The number of subscription video on demand (SVOD) users continues to rise, averaging 9.4 million daily users in the second half of 2022[2]. On the flipside, illegal streaming is decreasing significantly, especially for sport, thanks to the measures that Arcom has taken to combat this practice (-8 points in 2022), and for films and TV programmes (- 6 points in 2022).
Other digital devices are also enjoying growing take-up rates, one prime example being voice-assisted smart speakers, and connected objects in general. The percentage of people who own connected objects thus rose by 7 points compared to 2020 to reach 40%.
From a more general perspective, this edition of the Index highlights the development of new online cultural behaviours: in 2022 close to half of all internet users in France had already livestreamed musical content, whose popularity surged during Covid. The previous year, close to eight out of 10 internet users had performed an image search on the internet.
The Index also examines the environmental footprint of our digital behaviour
In 2020, digital technology accounted for 2.5% of the national carbon footprint, and it is devices that are responsible for the overwhelming majority of that impact (80%).
Some efforts to reduce the digital carbon footprint have been observed. The main electronic communications operators’ greenhouse gas emissions have been decreasing since 2018, for instance. The reduction of direct emissions, in particular by reducing their company vehicle fleets and improving their energy efficiency, has more than offset the increase in their indirect emissions generated by the unflagging rise in their networks’ power consumption, as deployments continue apace and network traffic continues to surge.
At the same time, the Index reveals that only 13% of the mobile phones that were purchased were refurbished models, and 10% of televisions were bought second-hand. Which means that there are still actions that can be taken to extend the life of devices.
Associated documents:
- Find out more about the “Arcep – Arcom Joint Digital Division”
- The complete Index
- Index key data on digital habits - infographics
[1] Connected TVs accessing the internet via an STB, a smart TV, connected game console, streaming device (OTT) and/or a computer
[2] After remaining unchanged between the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, average daily SVOD user numbers began to climb once again in the second half of 2022, representing a penetration rate of 17.5% of people ages 15 and up – Source: Médiamétrie Global Vidéo/ 37 500.