the essential
Fiber and its promise of fast speeds appeal to many French people. However, for some, the transition to the latter has turned into a real ordeal. Testimonials.
Philippe, a resident of Cugnaux struggled for many months to connect to the fiber. There is a big mess between SFR, which has the monopoly of the installation where I live, and behind the operators who struggle trying to find a solution to connect their customers, he summarizes today.
In 2019, the sexagenarian, who is at Orange, learns that he is now connectable to the fiber. SFR had installed a junction box, he explains. However, things quickly don’t go as planned. The plans provided by SFR indicated that the box on which I had to connect was not the one in front of my house, but was more than 800 meters away. This posed a problem because special cables had to be pulled. A situation that dragged on for 5 months… and which led to a new problem: there, they realized that my connection point was already full. There had been an underestimation of the number of houses. We had to find space. In total: the situation took almost a year and a half to resolve.
However, Philippe is not at the end of his troubles. A year later, a truck ripped off a pole. The whole street was left without fiber. The operators then all pass the buck. An unnamed bazaar, which lasted another 4 months.
We are really upset
A galley shared by Emilie, a resident of Escalquens. We have been asking for the connection of our house for ten months, she explains, disillusioned. Problem: a sheath is slightly clogged, but not obstructed, she insists. Nobody wants to clean it so we still don’t have internet at home. The young woman made requests for intervention with Orange, Fiber 31, her town hall or even the department council, but without success. They all pass the buck, while solving the problem would only take a few hours…
Another concern: Emilie’s house is new, fully automated and cannot benefit from ADSL or VDSL either, and does not have a rake antenna on the roof. It’s hell, a real everyday struggle and the problem is far from solved. We are really upset.
I’m at an impasse
For his part Thomas lives in the Tarn, on the edge of the Haute-Garonne, in an old farm, a little far from the rest of the town. 6 months ago, canvassers came to see him, telling him that he was eligible for fibre. Content, he signed a contract with SFR. However, a few days later, a technician told him that he had to install a sheath, from the municipal road to his house, allowing him to connect the fibre. Thomas then quickly carried out the work, in which I committed money.
A second technician goes to his home but tells him this time that the work has not actually been done on the communal road. The fiber covers the first houses at the start of the path, 200 meters from mine. On the other hand, the aerial poles for the passage of the fiber do not reach my home , deplores the Tarnais.
A few more weeks, an expert is sent on site. He then explains to him that the installation of the fiber is impossible, because the installation of poles generates work. SFR terminated my contract. And the same for Orange, to which I turned later.
Since I am supposed to be eligible for fiber, I can no longer take out an ADSL contract, he laments. My companion being 100% teleworking, this poses a problem in her daily life. Thomas tried to write several times to Tarn fiber, without answer. So I’m at an impasse…
It is unacceptable
Benjamin, a resident of Oise, found himself, on January 31, with the fiber of his home cut by a technician in order to supply another customer in the street, he assures. In my neighborhood, fiber is owned by SFR, and I’m at Sosh, which belongs to Orange. The resident of Hauts-de-France managed to obtain compensation for 200 GB in 4G to be able to go about his business on the Internet, while waiting to resolve the situation.
However, since the cut, Sosh has continued to postpone technical appointments.A first was scheduled for me on February 3, before being moved to 9, then the 24 and now I am waiting for March 3, impatiently, he says. But I have no illusions, I was purely and simply disconnected from the fiber because Orange does not own the network in my street, he accuses. These methods are completely unacceptable.
