Altitude Infra rehabilitates certain parts of its “Sequantic” public-initiative fibre network
On 14 February 2023, Arcep Chair, Laure de La Raudière, and Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for the Digital transition and Telecommunications, travelled to Leuville-sur-Orge (Essonne) where Altitude Infra was in the process of rehabilitating a portion of the ”Sequantic” FttH public-initiative network (PIN). Also present were Sophie Rigault and Serge Franceschi, vice-presidents of SIPPEREC, an open mixed association that established this network for local authorities, and David Elfassy, vice-president of the Altitude Group.
On 30 January 2023, Altitude Infrastructure rehabilitated 22 of the scheduled 70 SAP, including 15 in the Essonne.
This field visit is part of the Arcep and Government monitoring process put in place for the rehabilitation plan that Altitude Infra notified to Arcep in September 2022[1]. This action plan includes the rehabilitation of 70 shared access points (SAP) from the former Covage network which Altitude Infra took over in September 2021, and their service areas covering around 33,000 premises.
In concrete terms, the work being done by Altitude Infra includes reengineering the SAP and bringing them up to code, rehabilitating all of the intermediate cabinets and optical connection point (OCP), the labelling of cabinets and cables, replacing multipurpose cabinets with the installation of OCP dedicated to connection, and realigning the information contained in the company’s information system with the reality in the field.
The visit to Leuville-sur-Orge provided an opportunity to observe the repair work that Altitude Infra had begun on one of the town’s shared access points (neighbourhood cabinet) and its service area, then to speak with local officials and a spokesperson for the “Sequantic” PIN about the status of the rehabilitation plan.
Altitude Infra and XpFibre had notified Arcep of their rehabilitation plan in autumn 2022 (see inset below), Free Infrastructure notified an action plan on the scope of its high-capacity SAP in early February 2023
In addition, on 25 January 2023 Free Infrastructure notified Arcep of the implementation of a mechanism for assisting commercial operators in the production of access lines on its high-capacity shared access point infrastructures (networks with a specific architecture whose SAP house several thousand lines). This support mechanism includes guarantees from Free Infrastructure of reliable access lines, ensuring that all ordered lines are operational right up to the customer premises before the commercial operator intervenes to connect their customer. The primary goal is to reduce line set-up failure rates. It will be monitored on a regular basis with commercial operators and Arcep, to ensure that the implemented measures significantly reduce the failure rates on these networks.
Arcep has created a new page on its website devoted to monitoring the work operators are doing to improve fibre network quality.
Fibre network quality is a priority for the regulator who oversees a number of initiatives with operators to help reduce the issues that can be encountered on these networks. This new page on the Arcep websitesummarises the fibre network QoS work that is currently underway in multiple areas, including operational quality, delivering last mile connection and making the operator switching processes more fluid.
SPOTLIGHT / Action and rehabilitation plans underway on certain FttH networks
Arcep has been collecting data on the quality of FttH network operations in France since April 2021. The collected data highlight a situation that differs considerably depending on the network: a small number of networks, representing around 2% of all fibre lines in Metropolitan France, and located chiefly in the Ile de France region, have a rate of failure that is well above average.
In accordance with the commitments made by the sector in September 2022, these infrastructures will be the target of dedicated rehabilitation plans carried out by the concerned infrastructure operators. Altitude Infra and XpFibre notified their plans to Arcep in autumn 2022:
- Altitude Infra has committed to rehabilitating 70 shared access points (SAP), notably in the Essonne and Calvados, covering 33,000 premises, by March 2023;
- XpFibre has committed to rehabilitating 900 shared access points (SAP), chiefly in Ile-de-France and the Rhône Calvados, covering 400,000 premises, by the end of 2024, along with other SAP with operating issues, as needed.
To find out more: https://www.arcep.fr/actualites/actualites-et-communiques/detail/n/fibre-optique-221122.html
In addition, on 25 January 2023 Free Infrastructure notified Arcep of the implementation of a mechanism for assisting commercial operators in the production of access lines on its high-capacity shared access point infrastructures (networks with a specific architecture whose SAP house several thousand lines).
This support mechanism includes guarantees from Free Infrastructure of reliable access lines, ensuring that all ordered lines are operational right up to the customer premises before the commercial operator intervenes to connect their customer. The primary goal is to reduce line set-up failure rates. It will be monitored on a regular basis with commercial operators and Arcep, to ensure that the implemented measures significantly reduce the failure rates on these networks.
Arcep will be vigilant in ensuring these rehabilitation plans are brought to completion, and will perform regular checks on the progress and quality of these networks.
Associated document:
[1]Arcep press release of 22 November 2022: ”Altitude Infra and XPFibre commit to a rehabilitation plan for some of their FttH networks“