Vaucluse (84) in France working towards next-genaration broadband
Article
Le Vaucluse veut se doter d’un réseau très haut débit | La Provence (France – French language)
My comments and information obtained from this article
Vaucluse, a department in the Provence area of France is known for features like Avignon with that famous bridge. But it has a sizeable amount of rural space with its eastern half being mountainous and 17% of the population in the rural areas. Of course, there are the 5 major urban hubs being Avignon, Orange, Carpentras, Cavaillon, and Apt.
What is relevant to this site is that 5 of the exchanges in that department are fully dégroupé – served by all the competing Internet service providers independently.This is part of a digital divide that exists through this area with not all areas having a broadband service that is “up to snuff”.
The département’s local government have realised what is going on in this area and are to work on the issue of proper access to real broadband, both ADSL and next-generation service. Here, they will do a stocktake of the existing infrastructure and identify areas that need the work.
They reckon that this work will take 20 years for next-generation service to cover this département. The UMP party who are in opposition consider this as being too long because of the time that the technology takes to evolve in the Internet.
Of course, there are the key problems that beset rural and outer-urban areas when it comes to telecommunications, like ageing or derelict infrastructure. These have to be looked at as much as the existence of service at each of the exchanges. This stocktake may factor these issues in and assess the quality of this infrastructure.
Good marks to the Vaucluse local government in France in tackling this problem of adequate Internet service in rural areas. Here, this is an example of UK and France achieving a lively competitive and accessible Internet service for all.
