The Community Council of June 11 marked a new stage in the relations which had become stormy between Com-com Creuse Sud-Ouest (CSO) and the Dorsal mixed union.
The question of financing the “life of the fiber optic network” works (€600,000 per year) in the Creuse department came up again in the deliberations of Creuse Sud-Ouest – and only Creuse Sud-Ouest – since all the other intermunicipalities agreed to pay without discussion.
Remember that a request for additional funding at the rate of €47,970 per year for three years (2024 to 2026) and potentially three additional years, had been sent by Dorsal to all EPCIs in Creuse. This request presented to CSO on March 5, 2024 was mostly refused (deliberation adjourned) and transmitted to Dorsal, with the invitation to come and argue the agreement in person at a future meeting.
Jean-Marie Bost, president of the Syndicat Dorsal, therefore came to explain his request on June 11 in Sardent, accompanied by Yan Pamboutzoglou, director of the structure.
Miss to win
In his opening remarks, he explained at length that “marketing revenues, based solely on the operators’ co-financing mechanism, prove insufficient to ensure the financing of the network’s life operations, with each line bringing in around €6 per month, while Orange collects €10 on copper… To make up for this shortfall, the joint shareholder unions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Très Haut Débit (NATHD) have decided to increase the network access price from €6 to €9.90 per month, without being sure that the operators accept this increase, which would not occur for three or four years.”
In addition, ARCEP (the authority regulating tariffs for operators) issued an unfavorable opinion considering this increase disproportionate and unpredictable, as it occurred less than four years after signing the contract with the operators. “If this increase were accepted,” says Dorsal, “we would no longer need to collect EPCI.”
What about new houses?
As for the fiber connections for new buildings, Dorsal does not want to take charge of them, without having this additional financing which would allow the work of erasing, rerouting, moving, extending the network, repairs or creations of civil engineering (telephone cable in open ground, etc.), supply lines for new constructions (new or renovated houses that have never been connected to the telecom network).
Needless to say, Dorsal was expected and questions arose like that of Nicolas Derieux (Saint-Martin-Château) on the questionable quality of the poles (owned by Orange) on which the fiber is attached, the poor economic model of the project with an incorrect estimate of the number of subscriptions or the absence of a contractual guarantee of repairing breakdowns (8/10 days).
Martine Laporte, first vice-president of CSO, in charge of finances, (Vidaillat), confirmed loud and clear that this work on the life of the network was never planned during the negotiations.
Jean-Yves Grenouillet (Saint-Hilaire-le-Château) highlighted inconsistencies in the connections of certain places, houses not connected for no reason (like in Saint-Moreil) and landfills at the expense of the municipality.
A denial of democracy
President Gaudy broke up the 90 minutes devoted to Dorsal with the essential question of what would happen if the council refused to vote on the convention. Response from Jean-Marie Bost: “No work if there is no funding, you will manage with your constituents”.
Constrained and forced, the council finally voted for the convention (five votes against, eight abstentions, 29 for), a vote commented by Dominique Berteloot (Maisonnisses) with these bitter words: “This economic model, which we suffer, which Dorsal also suffers and which forces us to vote like this, is a denial of democracy! You pay or you die! “.
