Free wants to accelerate the end of copper to save electricity
Thomas Reynaud, the head of the Iliad / Free group, pleaded for the acceleration of the timetable for the closure of the copper network in telecoms, in order to contribute to the electricity savings requested by the government.
An acceleration of the end of copper is requested by Free
“It is energy nonsense to have two telecom networks in parallel, one in optical fiber and the other in copper”, Thomas Reynaud told the press, presenting the group’s half-year results. In areas where fiber has been deployed, such as in large cities for example, “we must accelerate the closure of copper”, he added.
In February, Orange presented its plan for closing the historic copper network, which must be fully completed by 2030. The group plans a transition phase until 2025 to prepare for the closure of the network, in particular with experiments carried out at municipal level, then a phase of technical closure of the historic network between 2026 and 2030, with the start of the cessation of its marketing. This plan “is not ambitious enough” and you need a plan “supported directly by the public authorities”, estimated the managing director of Iliad.
While Jean-Noël Barrot, the Minister of Digital, spoke this week of the preparation of a national roadmap for green digital, Thomas Reynaud indicated that Free had been working for some time on reducing electricity consumption. “We have worked a lot on the energy efficiency of the boxes” and, “for a year, for example, we decided to turn off certain frequency bands at night” on the mobile network, he said. The four telecom operators together represent just under 1% of national electricity consumption, he said.
New measures to come
Iliad/Free will take new measures in response to the government’s call: restrictions on heating or illuminated signs, awareness campaign for subscribers who can, for example, cut off their Wi-Fi at night, etc. The group also supports the government’s bill on the acceleration of renewable energies, said the general manager. “Twice recently we had two great renewable energy projects that fell through,” failing to obtain the necessary authorizations, he regretted.
