€300 to €600 grant given to connect more homes in France to fibre

Grants of up to €600 are now available in France to install fibre-optic internet at your home if the ADSL network in your region is not sufficient and you want to use a fast wireless internet service.

A previous Cohésion numérique des territoires grant of €150 was found to be insufficient and has been increased, although is means tested.

It went up to €300 on April 1, rising to €600 depending on a household’s income. The income threshold has not yet been clarified or made public by the government.

Options include using a wireless local loop (boucle local radio), which requires installation of an antenna on your home; satellite internet via a dish; or a 4G mobile internet box.

To find out more, visit this website. Input your commune’s name or click on the map for a selection of offers from different operators.

Contact your chosen operator to check if your home is eligible for money off. If so, when you sign up, the money will come off your bills automatically.

Alongside increasing the grant, the government is also in the process of recruiting and training 2,000 new digital advisors to help get the estimated 13 million people in France not connected to the internet online.

It will bring the total number to 4,000 advisors. The government states that since summer 2021, 100,000 people in France have been helped to connect to the internet.

France’s digital minister Cédric O said of the scheme:

“Equal access to the internet is the basis for all the digital policies we pursue in terms of innovation and technological development.

“Without access to digital technology, whether in terms of skills or uses, our country will not be able to achieve its full digital potential.”

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