Orange does not take France's fibre network seriously

To the Editor,

I would like to respond to the March letter entitled ‘Fibre internet pain’ and Charles Henniker-Heaton’s comment.

Here, in rural Normandy, we had – and still have – an ongoing ‘thing’ with Orange.

After the French government fined Orange heavily for not fulfilling their contract to install fibre cable access to all our area (about which Orange was outraged and squealed loudly on having to actually fulfil a signed contract), the telephone company finally attempted to supply properties in our area with fast internet access.

However, rather than install the sometimes delicate fibre optic cable underground where it would be safe, Orange decided it was too expensive and they would use the dilapidated existing wood-and-metal power cable poles. They even used a fallen pole!

Did they replace the fallen pole first? No, they wired up the damaged pole, which lies 10 degrees from horizontal, resembling a 1920s knitting pattern.

When discussing this comedy with neighbours recently, we were told of a power pole near them that had not been replaced, but the fibre optic cable had been hung along an ancient rotten garden fence instead.

So it appears Orange do not take their responsibilities very seriously, fine or no fine.

Having been an Orange customer for some 20 years, and finally having had enough, a couple of years ago I bought a Starlink kit and installed it myself. This was very straightforward.

It works magnificently – no drama, no fuss, no stroppy “customer service”. It just works. Fast internet speeds, and cheaper than Orange.

And no, I don’t have any connection with Mr Musk. I just use his 21st-Century solution to access the internet rather than wade through 19th-Century thinking.

T.H., Manche

Have you struggled to connect to the fibre network? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com