Arcep publishes guidelines for FTTH deployment(fr)

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Arcep publishes guidelines for FTTH deployment Friday 10 October 2008

French regulator Arcep has publishjed guidelines for network operators and building owners on depoyment of fibre-to-the-home services. While incumbent France Telecom has already opened its ducts to other operators, the market is still struggling with the question of at what point in the local loop do operators need to share infrastructure. The recent law on the modernisation of the economy laid out a principle of whoever installed fibre local loops first, must provide access to the 'last mile' under reasonable terms to other operators. Arcep has been working on the technical details of this, such as methods for performing work on the premises, the location of a shared access point and technical options for sharing the last part of the line. Public consultations have shown operators still have limited experience in the field with these choices, so in order to encourage further market development, Arcep has put its backing behind private operator agreements to resolve these issues. Some of the larger players such as France Telecom, SFR/Neuf Cegetel and Numericable have already set agreements on sharing infrastrcuture. Arcep recommends an agreement where the first operator on the premises agrees to also build last-mile access for other operators, with shared financing of the deployments. Arcep has also published a sample agreement for building owners negotiating the deployment of fibre, proving a legal reference contract for property owners and operators. The regulator said it will continue to work with the market on the technical details, and publish before the end of the year a progress report on the deployment of next-generation networks.