Senate votes for broadband for all

A LAW aiming to make sure everyone has access to broadband has been passed by the Senate.

Its measures would mainly benefit people living away from densely populated urban areas.

The bill has been put forward by a centrist senator, Hervé Maurey, and a UMP Party one, Philippe Leroy – however it is contested by most of Mr Leroy’s colleagues on the right, and is also unpopular with telecoms companies.

It aims to create new regulations for the deployment of broadband, superfast fibre-optic broadband and also 3G mobile telephony. One measure obliges companies to supply all internet customers with access to 2mbps internet (a moderate broadband speed) by December 31, 2013 and 8mbps by December 31, 2015. It would also create a legal “right” to broadband.

This has been criticised by the French Telecoms Federation as “unreaslistic by the dates envisaged”.

The bill also aims at forcing companies make contractual engagements on the supply of superfast broadband to more rural areas.

At the moment they merely have to make a declaration of their intentions.

Mr Maurey said: “We want to review the model of the national programme of superfast broadband deployment because it rests only on the goodwill of the operators.

“As their declarations have no legal value there are no sanctions in the case of them not respecting them.”

The requirement to sign binding contracts would force them to meet the wishes of local councils, notably in terms of coverage of the most rural areas, Mr Maury said.

France Télécom has said the measures are “counterproductive, if not to say dangerous”. The bill is too “rigid”, the company said.

Industry Minister Eric Besson, who opposes the bill, said: “You can’t build the digital economy in opposition to the operators.”

The text has yet to go to the National Assembly and may not be adopted due to a tight parliamentary calendar.

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