The oldest were rolled out in the 1950s to deploy what was then only a modest telephone network. Damaged by the Second World War, France was barely recovering and few inhabitants had a telephone at home. The progressive arrival of the copper network would change everything. Responsible for circulating telephone conversations before operating faxes and the now retired Minitel, the orange communication network then adapted to the arrival of the Internet to bring broadband to millions of homes. Seventy-five years after the installation of the first copper cables by the PTT, the network is about to gradually die out. Heckled by the performance of fiber, the copper network will have completely disappeared in 2030, promised Orange.
After some tests, the telephone operator got the green light from Arcep, the telecoms policeman, to dismantle its copper network in seven districts of Rennes (see box) and in 162 other more or less densely populated municipalities. Distributed throughout France, these communities will see their copper network go out on March 31, 2025, at the same time eliminating the ADSL offers that the youngest among you have probably never known. For what ? “Because the network is reaching the limit of its capacities. We have pushed it, increased throughput and power, but we can no longer do better,” explains Jean-Marc Escalettes, director of Orange Ouest.
Faced with fiber optics, copper no longer weighs. Slower, it hates water, regularly causing Internet or TV cuts during rainy episodes. It is impossible under these conditions to support the new uses of video streaming, teleworking or multi-screens. Above all, maintaining the network is expensive. “We recorded 350,000 interventions in 2022 linked to bad weather in Brittany alone”, explains the regional director.
The end of copper theft for operators?
Announced in 2019, the withdrawal of the metal that has become precious will also prevent thefts. Each year, kilometers of cable are stolen from operators. Purchased between 8,000 and 9,000 euros per ton when new, copper is resold at 4,000 euros per ton on the parallel network. “It costs us dearly and it can deprive inhabitants of the network for several days, even several weeks”, recalls Jan Charny, who leads the withdrawal project at Orange. The fiber being made of glass, it is not wanted by thieves. The withdrawal from the copper network will also allow the incumbent operator to return the raw material to recycling associations. Finally, the abandonment of the old network will reduce the carbon footprint: fiber has an energy consumption three to four times lower than that of copper.
Before pulling on its cables, the telephone operator will have to alert its customers. From 2024, it will cease to market ADSL offers in order to alert its subscribers to the gradual disappearance of broadband. Its competitors Bouygues, Free and SFR will have to do the same. There would remain in France more than 22 million active lines, all operators combined. While some are little or not used, others supply alarm systems or elevator emergency calls, which will have to be adapted.
Inform the elderly
There is also a large number of households not connected to fiber in the country. For most of them, the disappearance of copper will force them to change their formula. “We have to make this clear to some of our customers, especially the older ones. In two years, their phone will have to go through fiber,” explains Jean-Marc Escalettes. The director of Orange Ouest ensures that the offer will not cost more for the subscriber and that his company will bear the connection costs. It is unclear what the policy of other operators will be.