Well, clearly not to me! While we are ALL waiting for fiber, they are saving a lot of money to implement VDSL2 which will benefit all the HAVE, who are already less than a kilometer from NRA dispatchers, and who already have a speed of at least 8mb/s or more! And they will make them go from 50 to 100mb/s!
In the meantime, all the poor bells (like me), who live in the countryside, or far from the dispatcher, will be satisfied (as since the beginning of the implementation of ADSL) with a speed of 0,23 Mb / s.. (for me in this case, not even 1 Mb!).
Visionaries… (In any case, we can clearly see what their priorities are).
Well, who cares, we'll live older ! ; ))))
The copper telephone network has not said its last word. While fiber optic is being deployed on a massive scale, another very high-speed technology begins commercially throughout France this October: VDSL2. Technology promises to multiplier three times the maximum speed on the copper network – from 28 megabits per second (Mb/s) currently to 100 Mb/s in VDSL2 – for a cost of only a few euros per line. Problem: the eligibility conditions are drastic and the gain fades as soon as you move away more than a kilometer from the distributor (the power strip where the subscribers are connected). The gain would concern only 16% of lines, according to the calculations of the regulator, Arcep (Regulation Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts), which prefers table at a maximum speed of 50 Mb/s rather than 100.
Lire: “Improvement of the Internet on the telephone network could harm fiber”
Behind the beautiful promises of certain operators, such as OVH or Free (whose founder, Xavier Niel, is a shareholder at title staff of Monde), which tout the theoretical maximum throughput, so the reality may be disappointing. It is difficult, in this case, to to sell a low-cost revolution for customers, who are generally satisfied with their current broadband (ADSL) connection. The debate is also the same for the transition to fiber optics, despite a new network and better, scalable services: 200 Mb/s on average currently against 100 Mb/s a year earlier. Sold at a higher price, this network attracts very little French Internet users, who perceive little obvious gain.
"INTERNET USERS-GUINEA PIGS" FOR FREE?
The switch to VDSL2 is carried out "free of charge" by the Internet service provider (ISP), even if it is often conditional on the possession of the last Internet box, therefore on the linked offer. All the operators present this technology as an improvement of ADSL, without additional cost, therefore not justifying an additional paying option. This commercial launch follows an experiment in Dordogne and Gironde during the summer. If it's not supposed to correspond to an increase in the price, the overbidding on the debits does indeed exist.
Free, which promises on its site and in a press release speeds that can aller up to 100 Mb/s, got pinned by Arcep in a press release published on Tuesday 1er October, for "the partial and sometimes inaccurate character" of its announcements. A unique case. The ISP is accused ofannounce openly at speeds that are very difficult to achieve in real conditions. "In its press release, Free explains in small letters that these are flow rates achieved in the laboratory. French users are not laboratory rats", comments a good connoisseur of the file. Contacted for speak of this technology, Free did not respond to our requests. The telecoms policeman was unable to respond to us when the article was published. The authority organised, on Tuesday evening, a 'chat' on this subject.
Before the Arcep attack, Free's competitors were already showing a distance regarding the technical optimism of the "troublemaker" operator. "The speeds are between 15 and 50 mega for the majority of eligible customers. Say that 'VDSL is equal to 100 mega', it's wrong", declared, Tuesday afternoon, Aurélie Stock-Poeuf, unified marketing director ofOrange France, which evokes a "overpromise". "VDSL adds comfort less than a kilometer from the dispatcher. If we follow Arcep's nomenclature, there is no reason toannounce more than 10 to 15% coverage with alleged speeds three times higher. The operator, who announces twice as much speed at less than 500 meters or gains beyond one kilometer, will have to take his responsibilities. Do not deceive customers", judged Franck Abihssira, Director of Fixed Offers, services and contents of Bouygues Telecom.
AN INCENTIVE TO SWITCH FROM BOX?
VDSL2 would therefore be of interest above all to subscribers in sparsely populated towns, which are close to the dispatcher. And not the cities where many subscribers are connected by a "sub-distributor" which preventsutiliser technology, nor rural areas which have very low speed ADSL connections and which would not see any gain. The improvement would ultimately affect few customers.
The fact that it is linked to the latest boxes of access providers could it, all the same, in doing an argument for their latest offers? "When you're in medium-sized or smaller towns, you can imagine that a large proportion of customers will benefit from VDSL2", wanna believe Bouygues Télécom, which only offers its BBox Sensation for this technology.
"We have several customer segments: those who are very sensitive to speed (downloading, 'cloud' or network storage), which are rather in very dense areas, covered by an optical fiber or cable offer. When we go to less dense areas, with less intense activities, we canquestion on the interest of customers for these debits" despite their better eligibility, explains Franck Abihssira of Bouygues Télécom, which is launching its offer on October 10. The commercial potential of a BBox Sensation in VDSL would therefore already be covered by the ISP's 'fiber' package, which offers better services at the same price.
At Orange, VDSL2 is reserved for the Livebox Play, announced last November. It is provided in a package at 39,90 euros per month, six euros more than the operator's simple offer. As he explained at the end of September, a very large majority ISP customers do not have the latest version of the Livebox. The switch to VDSL2 therefore corresponds to a possible rise in prices for customers.
“We have eight months of history on the Livebox Play. That does not mean say that all customers paid 33,90 euros before. Some were on premium offers at 39,90 euros. There is a very large part of the park which can passer to Livebox Play at no additional cost", several tens of percent, according to the marketing director of Orange France. The gain would therefore be up to the investment for the ISP, insignificant, even if the evolution will be pushed in store and by telephone to eligible customers.
Can VDSL2 help operators to retarder the costly deployment of fiber optics? Following the announcement of VDSL2 authorization by Arcep, one expressed fears by associations and local authorities was that operators opt for VDSL2 in sparsely populated areas, which are therefore unprofitable, rather was thanlead the optical fiber. An analysis that the operators refute.
"NO COMPETITION WITH FIBER"
"We have an extremely clear vision: VDSL and fiber are not in competition, neither on uses nor on coverage. According to Arcep, only 6% of lines can benefit from more than 30 megabits/s, i.e. 1,9 million households. This is less than the number of people eligible for fiber at Orange!", indicates the marketing director of the French ISP. "This is good news for customers who will have to wait years beforeto have fiber access. It's a network optimization strategy", further moderates the operator.
However, the coverage is wide. "We keep our feet on the ground. We are adopting VDSL with just over 5000 dispatchers covered. To date, a very small proportion of customers are not covered, even if I cannot tellto hire on full coverage of our network", explains the marketing director of the incumbent operator. "There is very little gap in VDSL2 coverage between the four national operators. At the end of October, more than 50% of our unbundled infrastructure [owned by the operator] is equipped with VDSL2. By continuing to deploy, in particular with our partners , we will reach 100% around the second quarter of 2014", ensures for its part Bouygues Télécom. Asked by PC Inpact, SFR explains that the equipment deployed since mid-2012 is compatible, and expects full coverage also during 2014.
While Arcep is alarmed by overly optimistic commercial promises, operators do not seem see obvious gain to this low-cost evolution, which could at best to convince some customers ofopt for the latest box. Operators finally advertise VDSL as a transition technology to very high speed, mostly fiber, despite the fears of many associations. The technology, which allows a large part of the'Germany access to high-speed Internet for a reduced investment, would therefore be limited to the role of second knife in France, while waiting - again and again - for the generalization of fiber optics, so desired by the regulator.
source: Lemonde.fr
Further information :
Terms & Conditions
Subscribe
Report
My comments