Orange to dismantle telephone network: When will Languedoc be affected?

End of an era. As planned in the “Very High Speed” plan, now that the optical fiber is fully deployed, Orange is beginning the process of dismantling the copper network it owns in its capacity as the incumbent operator. Largely implemented in the 1970s for landline telephones, it has powered ADSL boxes since the 2000s. It is represented by a “T” telephone socket.

The operation officially started on January 31, 2024. But do not panic, this is only the first of seven phases and, for the moment, it is only the commercial closure of all offers based on the copper network – so municipalities in ADSL – 162 the technical closure of the network for the same towns and villages only next year on January 31, 2025. It will happen every day.

First batch in the region in 2026

The former Languedoc-Roussillon is not affected by this first phase. Eight municipalities in Gard and four in Hérault, all of modest size – the largest being Aubais – are, however, part of Lot No. 2 which provides for technical closure in January 2026. A year later, there will be a few more, in Lot No. 3 of 2,145 municipalities and 2.4 million households: 32 in Aude, 26 in Gard – including Bagnols-sur-Sez -, 16 in Pyrenees-Orientales and 13 in Hérault.

A “major” industrial project

The last four batches are yet to be communicated, “But the first condition to be included is that the full deployment of optical fiber or a technological mix like 4G or 5G home should be available that makes it possible to restore very high speeds through mobile networks”, suggests Nicolas Brockot, regional representative for Orange. He speaks about it “Major Industrial Projects”. “Deconstructing a network is more complicated than creating one”, he adds. The operation will be extended to 2030, a full seven years to dismantle the copper… to use optical fiber.