"With an estimated 95 percent of premises in France now connectable to the high-speed fibre network, at the same time, the 50-year-old copper network will be switched off, meaning that ADSL internet connections will disappear. The shutdown of the copper network began in 2025 and is being carried out progressively by batches of municipalities, in two stages: commercial closure followed by technical closure at least 12 months later."
"Orange France, which is responsible for the disconnection work, plans for all lines to be shut down by the end of 2030, meaning that services using the copper network - any telephone connected to a T-shaped socket or ADSL internet subscription - will cease to operate. By the end of 2025, the copper network was definitively shut down in 162 municipalities, with the pace now accelerating. By the end of January 2026, another 763 towns and villages will be switched off."
Rural internet in France was historically poor, but a decade-long national rollout, Plan France Très Haut Débit, has extended high-speed fibre to towns, villages and hamlets. An estimated 95 percent of premises are now connectable to fibre, and the 50-year-old copper network will be switched off so ADSL connections will disappear. The shutdown began in 2025 and proceeds progressively by batches of municipalities in two stages: commercial closure followed by technical closure at least 12 months later. Orange France is responsible for disconnection and plans to shut all lines by the end of 2030. By end-2025, 162 municipalities had been definitively closed and another 763 were due to be switched off by January 2026. From 31 January 2026, new copper offers will no longer be marketed in about 26,000 municipalities. The Economy Ministry website lists planned switch-off dates.
Read at The Local France
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