It is a tradition, in France, that the top offices are always held by extremely bright people who can think of the best solutions to any issue. This week no less than 4 ministers and 2 former prime ministers gathered in an impressive conference to discuss ways to boost the digital economy as a way of general economic recovery. The opportunity is a projected multi-billion euro loan to be applied to projects and investments for the future of the country.
There was clear agreement on the right ways to do it. There could be doubts on the actual outcomes, because we are in the world of politics, but at least there seems to be a common vision.
Some initiatives are related to contents and services, like encouraging the development of “serious gaming” ventures (although I personally have difficulties associating the concepts of government, gaming, and seriousness).
However to the great satisfaction of next generation network promoters, priority was given to infrastructure, as a way to promote economic progress, sustainable development, and equality among citizens.
For the rural areas, the pragmatists recommend the deployment of fibre to the incumbent’s node, and then DSL to the end user. While it may provide an answer to the lack of broadband for some users, we are concerned that it could reinforce the incumbent’s monopoly in these areas. Perhaps it’s not a concern and we should leave 3% of the population with only one alternative, which is better than none. Another solution is to bundle together rural and dense areas to create more attractive public-private partnerships opportunities.
For medium-sized urban areas (so-called semi-dense areas) the solution would be to create a single national operator with public and private funds. This idea looks like the Australian project with less ambition. The issue with this concept is that there are already tens of initiatives of municipalities to deploy fibre networks in partnership with private operators. Would municipalities have to sit on the bench while this mutualised operator decides where and when to start deploying? Will it take one or two years for the large operators to decide to participate? We are advocating for bylaws that incorporate the possibility to finance local initiatives.
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