Maine-et-Loire will be fully connected to optical fiber in October 2023 – Le Journal des Entreprises – Maine-et-Loire
Anjou Numérique was created in July 2015, under the aegis of the Maine-et-Loire department, with the aim of connecting the entire territory to broadband.
The project, entrusted by public service delegation to TDF, via its local subsidiary Anjou Fibre, should be completed in October 2023. The 200,000e socket has just been connected in the village of Denée, south of Angers. “For many towns and companies poorly served by broadband, the realization of this project is real progress, synonymous with both economic and residential attractiveness”, rejoices Philippe Chalopin, president of Anjou Numérique.
235,000 future connections
The target of 235,000 households and businesses with broadband in the department should therefore be reached just over five years after the contract with TDF for deploymentand four years later the first take posed in July 2019 in Brissac-Quincé.
The project, worth a total of 323 million euros, was supported to the tune of 5 million euros by the Department of Maine-et-Loire, 5.4 million euros by the Pays de la Loire and 24 million euros by the State. TDF has invested more than 287 million euros. The group was supported by several grants and by the Banque des Territoires, which supported Anjou Fiber by investing around 50 million euros.
The deployment of broadband concerns the entire department, with the exception of the conurbations of Angers and Cholet and the town of Saumur, where it was provided by Orange. If TDF installed the optical fiber, it is then its operator customers who take over to provide access to users, individuals or businesses.
200 jobs created
“Our commitment was made for 25 years, since after that we will still complete the deployment, maintain the network, supervise it and ensure its maintenance, and continue to develop it at the rate of population growth, particularly in the new residential areas, describes Olivier Huart, CEO of TDF. By 2030, we will also ensure the dismantling of the entire copper network which has been replaced by optical fiber.”
In total, 14,000 kilometers of optical fiber will have been laid. The project, which will be completed in October, has enabled the creation of 200 jobs in the department and has been accompanied by the creation of three dedicated training centers, in Baugé, Chemillé and Segré. 60,000 hours of training and more than 137,000 hours of integration were provided.
