Arcep is adopting a decision that renders legally binding the three-year pricing commitment from Orange for 2026, 2027 and 2028, on unbundled (LLU) access to the copper local loop, subject to an obligation of non-excessive pricing.
Orange is required to comply with the price cap on the recurring monthly rate for access to full unbundling, subject to an obligation of non-excessive pricing, which has been set at €10.70 per pair and per month up to 2028 included.
The accelerated pace of the copper network switchoff and the ongoing deployment of competing infrastructures led Arcep [1] – as part of the 7th round of market analysis (2024-2028) – to distinguish three types of Orange copper local loop access: access subject to an obligation of cost-based pricing, access subject to an obligation of non-excessive pricing [2] and access for which price supervision has been lifted.
On the matter of access subject to an obligation of non-excessive pricing, Arcep held a public consultation from 4 February to 7 March 2025 on the proposal from Orange [3] for the years 2026 to 2028. The responses to this public consultation led the Authority to make substantial changes to the draft decision. The Authority submitted its draft decision to the European Commission on 1 April 2025. The Commission had no comments to make on this draft decision.
This price cap is identical to the one in effect in 2025.
This capped price is on top of the monthly flat-rate tax on network businesses (IFER), which Arcep adjusts every year to factor in the annual IFER update.
The commitment from Orange, which this Decision has rendered legally binding, also concerns partial unbundling and other full LLU prices, including service access fees, cancellation fees and the VAS+ rate.
Associated document
[2] Access subject to an obligation of non-excessive pricing, defined by Article 45 of Decision No. 2023-2802, are those for which “as an exception to Article 44, Orange is subject to an obligation to charge non-excessive prices for access lines located in municipalities where at least 95% of the premises have been connectable to FttH infrastructure for at least nine months, according to the Authority’s observatory of broadband and superfast broadband subscription and deployment”.