Plum has carried out a study for Arcep, the French telecommunications regulator, looking at the impacts of the regulatory structure deployed for fibre networks in France. Our report describes the regulatory framework, which Arcep terms as “symmetric” as it requires any operator deploying an optical fibre local loop to grant all reasonable requests for access from third-party operators to access that network’s lines. The implementation of this framework to various scenarios is considered. The study then goes on to compare this to implementation of regulation in a number of other European countries, considering the differences in legislation, guidelines, and also outcomes.

Our report finds that Arcep’s regulatory framework has led to positive outcomes for French consumers, with fibre take-up and availability, as well as quality of service, well above the standard available elsewhere. The symmetric regulatory framework, which guarantees access to a passive infrastructure where at least one operator has deployed fibre, encourages extending coverage rather than overbuild, thereby fostering efficient investments in networks in the long run.

Combined with this comparative analysis, our study looked at different scenarios to examine the extent to which the results achieved by the regulatory framework in France might be affected by regulatory changes in the short and long term: a partial or complete removal of symmetric regulation, or removal of the obligation for the incumbent to provide access to its civil engineering infrastructure to competitors, which is a cornerstone of the current regulatory framework governing fibre network deployment. The analysis of the different scenarios concludes that these changes would have negative effects (decreased coverage, increased retail prices).

Our full report is available to download from the Arcep website here.