Fiber connection in the region: the Somme lagging behind

Like the telephone plan of the 1970s, the State decided, in 2011, to connect the optical fiber to each accommodation in France.

In 2011, 6% of households connected

This plan is called the France plan Very high speed (THD). The THD was supposed to cost 20 billion euros, financed by operators (10 billion), public subsidies (6.5 billion) and the rest by the State directly (3.5 billion).

12 years after the launch of the project and less than a year from the planned end, the THD would be a semi-success.

In 2011, 6% of homes were connected to fiber. Today, more than 86% of premises are covered.

Hauts-de-France at the top of the ranking

The goal of reaching 100% by 2025 is certainly not achievable, but it comes very close. Today, France is by far in the lead compared to all European countries regarding the connection of optical fiber in its territory.

In 2017, the Hauts-de-France were fifth. Today, they remain ahead of Réunion or even the Grand Est, but still behind Île-de-France in the fiber coverage rate, by two small points (92% to 94%).

For good reason, the Somme, the ugly duckling of the group.

In a study of the fiber coverage rate, the Hauts-de-France departments are overall among the best ranked: Oise (98%) andAisne (97%) are first and second, Pas-de-Calais (95%) fourteenth, North (94%) twentieth, but the Sum is much lower: 75th with only 78% fiber coverage.

Why the Somme keeps a low profile

To fully cover France, the THD divided the country into three parts: very dense zones (ZTD), less dense zones of private initiative (RIP) and less dense zones of public initiative (AMII).

And for each of them, the deployment of optical fiber is organized differently.

ZTDs are often prioritized, but the Somme is not one of them. Around Amiens, these are AMII zones, and generally in the rest of the Somme RIPs.

Operators consider the deployment of fiber not profitable enough for them, so the deployment takes much longer.

Only two operators agree to deploy a fiber optic network in the surroundings of Amiens: Orange and SFR. Thus, only communities finance projects in the rest of the Somme.

End of work in 2025?

Between 2017 and 2023, fiber coverage in the Somme saw a jump of 600%, going from 13% to 78% of homes covered.

Impressive certainly, but nothing compared to departments like the Vosges, which went from 2% to 92% in 2023.

The objective is therefore to complete the work in the Somme in less than a year, to get closer to the 100% coverage hoped for by 2025, even if this is not shaping up well.

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