\n Means-tested financial aid will soon be available to households in areas of France where connecting to high-speed fibre internet is difficult for technical reasons.\n <\/p>\n
France’s rollout of the high-speed fibre-optic internet network is almost complete, with the vast majority of homes now in an area with available fibre.<\/p>\n
But from September, financial assistance will be offered to households who are struggling to make the switchover from the older ADSL connection.<\/p>\n
A decree published in France\u2019s Journal Officiel on July 18th establishes financial assistance for fibre-optic connection work carried out between September 1st 2025 and May 31st 2027 in certain towns, villages and hamlets \u2013 including in areas where the existing copper network is due to be shut down by the end of January 2026. Further details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The ageing copper network is being slowly shut down, and \u2013 if targets are met \u2013 will be completely switched off by 2030. The Economy Ministry maintains an online interactive map<\/a>, on which users can discover when shutdown is planned for their area, by entering their postcode.<\/p>\n For households, assistance is available for primary residences only where \u201ca failure to connect to the fibre optic network must have been confirmed due to the need for work to be carried out on private property.\u201d<\/p>\n Assistance allocated is determined according to the nature of the work to be carried out, classified into three categories: \u201csmall-scale,\u201d \u201cmedium-scale,\u201d or \u201cmajor work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By the end of December 2024, 91 percent of properties \u2013 40.6 million \u2013 in France were connectable to the country\u2019s fibre-optic network, while four million premises still needed to be made connectable, according to figures published by administrative authority the Autorit\u00e9 de R\u00e9gulation des Communications Electroniques, des Postes et de la Distribution de la Presse (Arcep)<\/a>.<\/p>\n It said that more than eight out of 10 internet subscriptions were to very high-speed networks at the end of last year, while three-quarters of internet subscriptions were to the fibre optic network.<\/p>\n